


The Gift

by SilverSerenity



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Attempted Sexual Assault, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Language, Mutual Masturbation, Smut, Spanking, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Threats of Violence, mentions of abuse, some kink?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-09-11 23:31:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 56,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16862062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverSerenity/pseuds/SilverSerenity
Summary: Negan gets a new gift from his men, but doesn’t anticipate seeing her as more than a new toy to add to the collection.





	1. Strawberry For Your TIme

"As you were!" Negan yelled before some even hit their knees as walked to the gates of the of the Sanctuary. His men were pulling what he assumed was his gift from the trunk. Grinning he swung Lucille up onto his shoulder. He got closer and found it was a girl. It was not the first time a woman was brought before him. One of his wives had been a gift. This one couldn’t have been out of her teens though, almost, but not quite. She thrashed, kicked, and punched his men, but she was little and there were three of them. Even when she broke free of one, the other two still had her. He intended to have them put her down, because with the gate closed there was really nowhere for her to go, but something caught his attention.

There was no sound coming from the girl. He could hear the whispering around him, the jeering from someone in the back, the grunting and growling from the men trying to keep her under control, but nothing from the girl. Most who were dragged in here were literally dragged kicking and screaming. Not this one.

Then she went and got one of his men in the balls with her knee, and her head came back just right to get the one behind her in the nose. Best of all she lifted her fist at the third and he backed up. He backed away from her! She was a scrappy little thing.

Negan tucked Lucille under his arm and clapped, laughing heartily. “That, little girl, was _badass!_ ” She started to back away towards the gate, her grey eyes trained right on him. Simon went to step forward to get her, probably to kneel, but that’s when the knife came from her waistband, and Simon pulled a gun. Her attention gone from him. That just would not do!

“Hey, hey, hey!” Negan yelled waving Simon away from the girl. “You put that away Simon, leave the little girl be. I mean some big bad men just scooped her up and shoved her in a fucking trunk. I think she can have a little fucking slack. No one’s dead or nothing! Damn!” He pointed with Lucille at the man who backed away from the five foot nothing girl laughing, “I mean his pride is a fucking goner,” he looked at him, “You, my man, might as well chop your nuts off and give them to her! _But!_ No one is irreparably damaged.”

Simon hesitantly put away his gun, and the girl was once more focused on Negan. Just like he wanted. She faltered when he grinned at her, but then her eyes traveled to Lucille in all her barbwired glory, and she held her knife more firmly. She held the knife pointing down, she’d be able to punch if she wanted to, but he suspected it was more powerful when going for headshots on zombies. “Oh, this here is Lucille!” Negan introduced them holding his baby out for inspection before propping the bat up on his shoulder again. “She is my main girl, but you’re looking awfully fucking pretty yourself. Mmm!”

When she didn’t say anything, only raised an eyebrow at him he smirked a little more and saddled up closer to her. “Of course! I’m Negan. I run the fuck out of this place. I mean if I wanted to I could make them all kneel, you probably missed that bit. It’s fucking fantastic. Yah wanna see ‘em kneel?”

She looked even more dearly confused, glanced around at everyone, quick, before she shook her head once.

“Another time perhaps,” He bounced a bit as he moved around to her other side taking her in. She was a little thin. No one taking care of her maybe, definitely no one taking good care of her… His eyes traveled down to a tear in her tank, and the bruising marring her side. His gaze darkened as he stepped a little closer and noticed, passed the knife in her hand, the bruises on her arm. The knife in her hand swiped at him, but he caught her wrist and used the top of Lucille to give her side a love tap. Like trying to get a ball in the corner pocket, but not the queue ball with it.

She dropped the knife instantly, a ragged gasp coming out of her, the only noise he’d heard her make yet. Simon stepped forward and grabbed the knife and Negan held out Lucille insisting, “Take good care of her.” Once he had both hands he backed her up to the car so she was caged between him and the door. He pulled her shirt up to see red and purple marks all up and down her side. “Now which of my grade-A up fuckups did this?!” He asked, sending dark looks at the men who were all fast to deny they had anything to do with this.

She shook her head, jerking back against the car.

“No? You’re not telling me?!” Negan snarled out his question.

She shook her head more waving her hands.

“Wasn’t them?” He asked as he got right in her face. She nodded this time, careful.

He’d fuck up whoever did this if he ever found them. “Now how about you try using your words, and tell me your name.”

She shook her head, pushing at him. She needed to get out of here. She needed to get away. It was all she could think. She did not want to stand here and tell him her name. Only he grabbed her chin and insisted, “You know hurting women here is generally a big fucking no-no, but _you_ I’m thinking of taking right over my knee. Give all these nice people a really good fucking show! Now I will not ask again!”

She believed him.

When he grabbed her arm she gasped out, “Jac!” 

“Jac? Your name is Jac?” Negan asked, raising a brow at her, not sure what to think of the information he was given.

“Jac..” She forced herself to slow down, and breathed out, “Jacqueline…”

He doubted anyone but him could hear her. He righted her shirt as he glanced at those around him. Maybe that was okay. “Now, that wasn’t so fucking hard, was it?” He asked, earning a headshake. He brushed his thumb along her cheek before saying, “Come on, let’s go get you something to eat.” She seemed unsure, so he didn’t give her a choice, instead he grabbed her around the shoulders and started leading her towards the factory yelling at everyone else, “Don’t all you fuckers have work to do?!”

Everyone scattered.

Simon followed behind dutifully with Lucille.

oOo

Jac couldn’t believe it.

They had strawberries!

They had strawberries and this man was setting a bowl of them in front of her. When they first walked into what appeared to be a cafeteria she witnessed the kneeling thing. Most of the people in the room kneeled. The only ones who didn’t were positioned around the room with guns, or were working with what food seemed to be available. Now others were milling around, a few were eating, others still had the hurried steps of someone working. This Negan guy was sitting in front of her with a toothy grin, like he had a canary in his mouth. The question was though, “What’s this cost?”

“Normally a shitload of points, but today you get them for the low, low, price of being shoved in a trunk and brought here against your will.” Negan said waving to the bowl grandly. Of course, she’d also have to sit here with him, and he expected her to talk to him, but she’d learn that all on her own.

She watched him with open suspicion but she did start eating. He was honestly surprised that she didn’t start eating them like he was going to take them from her. She took her time, but she kept glancing at him. Her eyes flitted to Lucille. Then she eyed Simon who was hovering near the next table. When Jac’s eyes came back to him she frowned a bit. He was watching her so closely. “What?” She asked after she swallowed what was in her mouth, he made her feel weird when he looked at her like that.

“You always this fucking quiet?” Negan asked as he laced his fingers together and rested his chin on them. It’s like every word was breathed. Every word a secret.

Jac shrugged, and tried not to visibly wince at his cursing. It just seemed to be part of his personal esthetic not a sign of anger. Anyway, she didn’t want to get into it, so she avoided it by discarding the top of the strawberry into the bowl and starting on the next one. The less she talked the less she could mess up.

Negan frowned, he saw her wince, but wasn’t sure why. The question or the cursing? He’d try a smaller question. “How old are you?”

“Uhm…. About seventeen? Lunar months… aren’t the same.” Jac offered, covering her mouth with her hand at first.

“Someone around here might know the month and day, some of these fuckers are so sentimental,” Negan shrugged. He wasn’t really concerned with when it was. He was old enough he didn’t need to keep track anymore. He looked her over again. She was old enough, but she hadn’t started that way. “You with a group? That how you made it so long?” When this started out she would have been fifteen, maybe fourteen depending on if her about made her possibly older or younger. Either way she would have been even smaller than she was now. He wasn’t kidding when he called her little girl. The average zombie was probably always bigger than her.

Jac could feel her shoulders hunch. She didn’t want to talk to him anymore. The way he focused on her suggested she didn’t get to keep eating if she didn’t answer his question, so she pushed the bowl towards him asking, “Am I allowed to leave?”

“Not right fucking now you’re not. Answer my question,” Negan insisted as he shoved the bowl back towards her. He watched her fidget. She wouldn’t look him in the eye. Instead she watched his hands.

“My dad was with a group… I…” Jac paused, “I was just kind of there. I was … was trying to leave,” Jac mumbled as she fidgeted with the end of her tanktop. When she glanced up and saw that it looked like his whole demeanor had darkened her hands moved down to grip the hem of her shorts; her eyes firmly on her hands.

“How big was the group,” Negan asked, even though that was not what he wanted to ask her.

“T-ten men, five women, three kids, a boy about my age and me….” Jac ticked off, “T-Twenty…”

Twenty people in his territory should be easy enough to find.

“Why were you leaving?” Negan asked deliberately slow. Making it clear that he expected to be answered. She wouldn’t even look at him though. When the silence persisted he stood, his hands fisted on the table, he growled, “Answer me little girl.”

“You saw the bruises…” Jac breathed out.

“Who gave them to you?” Negan growled out.

Jac shook her head, keeping her eyes down.

“Your dad huh?” Negan asked as he stood up and walked around the table to sit next to her facing the other way. His back sat against the edge of the table and she just tensed further. “Yeah I’m fucking right. He beat you since before the world fucking ended and when it did end he didn’t even have the common decency to hide it from everyone. None of them had the common fucking decency to speak up either. I bet he fucked with your head. Said shit to you parents shouldn’t even think about their brats. You’re so damn quiet because if he didn’t notice you he didn’t think too much about smacking you around. He do more than beat you?”

Jac shook her head. Her father hadn’t shown any interest in _that_ towards her…

“At least there’s fucking that,” Negan huffed as he watched her openly. After a moment he grinned asking, “So, where do you plan to go?”

Jac shrugged as she glanced up at him, only to shrink away. “This isn’t far enough.”

Negan didn’t let that stop him. “Who the fuck do you think is getting in here?”

Jac looked around. “I don’t think I’d be useful here…” Eventually he’d figure that out and kick her out. Eventually she’d mess up. She rather skip a step and save him the time.

Negan on the other hand was positive she’d be plenty useful to him. There was just something about her. Like being presented with a litter of puppies; he just wanted this one more. A bunch of little reasons, but no particular big one. He’d just taken a shine to her.

“You’re going… going to let me leave, right?” Jac asked as she wrung her hands in her tank top again.

Negan frowned. He’d be keeping her here against her will if he said no. He could keep her locked up stairs in his quarters, not even the wives quarters, _his_ , but that’d be breaking rules that other men would start breaking. They were rules he wouldn’t stand for being broken. That didn’t mean he couldn’t bend them. “Yeah I’ll let ya leave. Finish eating and I’ll let you out the gate.” Negan huffed.

Jac frowned up at him. She almost thought he wouldn’t let her go… She could do this though. Make it on her own. Jac set to work on the strawberries watching him carefully as he sat next to her. He watched her right back at first but then he just looked out at the room they were in. Looking down at what she was doing Jac frowned before looking back at him asking, “You want some?”

Negan’s head snapped to the side so fast he cursed a bit as he gave himself whiplash. Warm pain washed up his neck. The little heathen had the gull to hide a smile behind her hand as she looked away from him for a moment. “Yeah,” He huffed as he grabbed one from the bowl, scraping his teeth against the red flesh at first before taking a bite out of it.

Jac grinned a bit to herself as she ate another one.

Maybe he wasn’t so bad.

Only Jac noticed a woman sitting a couple tables in front of her. She looked really concerned. She whispered to the man sitting next to her. He kept his eyes firmly on his food…

Maybe he wasn’t so bad as long as he liked you…

He grabbed another strawberry and she watched as juice dripped down onto the scruff on his chin. She must have kept starring because once he discarded the top, he caught her and grinned as he wiped at his mouth with his hand. Jac looked back down at the bowl quickly. She’d just finish eating with him and get out of here. Easy as pie.

oOo

“You sure you want to go back out in that fuckstorm?” Negan asked as he stood at the gate with her. At the top the men were picking off any they could see. Another show of good will.

“Yeah, I don’t want to be a bother,” Jac insisted as she situated herself. She was given back her knife. Simon had his gun in his hand and kept watching her like she was liable to stick it in Negan. The man gave her strawberries, as long as he opened the gate and let her out he’d be one of the best people she’d met… ever. Besides he still had Lucille. Even if she stabbed him and got him good he’d probably still take her head from her shoulders. “I’ll head back to where I hid my stuff first.”

Negan snorted at that. _A bother_. He got the feeling that she’d be less of a bother than half his wives. He didn’t say this, after all he did enjoy fucking his wives. They were all really good at it. Before he could wonder too deeply about how she’d be in bed the gate was opened just enough for a person to get through. He walked with her a couple steps to the gate saying, “When you figure out you’re making a big fucking mistake you can come back and talk to me. I’m sure we can figure out something.”

“I’ll be fine,” Jac smiled up at him. “See you later.”

“Don’t you mean goodbye?” Simon asked gruffly when Negan didn’t seem fit to question it.

Jac shrugged, she didn't say it, but she never said goodbye to people she liked. She liked to think she'd see him again somewhere else, or at least he'd be alive so that could happen. She waved a bit behind her to Negan before she quickly set out. She stayed on the road like they told her to until she was too far away to clearly make out the people on the guard towers. That way if a walker came out of the forest they could shoot it and not her. Nothing came out of the woods though.

Back inside the closed gate Negan looked at Simon and insisted, “Have someone prep a car. I need a dark one, with a full tank of gas and two extra gallons in the trunk.”

“She doesn’t want to stay,” Simon said as he rubbed the back of his head.

“So she fucking said,” Negan scowled. “She was my fucking gift though, and I’ll do what I damn well please.”

“I’ll get someone to pack some food and water just in case it takes longer than you expect,” Simon gave in before he walked off to do as he was told.


	2. Strangers With Goodies

Negan got the directions to the town they found Jac in from his men. It wasn't too far, going in the direction of The Kingdom. Thinking about it he decided to ask for more varieties of fruit from them. Some of everything they happened to have. A sampler. See what his sweet little girl liked. Ezekiel seemed like the kind to drink tea. He’d see if she liked that.

He’d given her an hour’s head start. Drove slow, and when it got dark he didn’t bother with the lights, the moon was bright enough. There didn’t seem to be too many walkers about and he wanted to keep it that way, no reason to go flashing his high beams. He passed a dead-dead one in the road. Stopped and pointed a flashlight at it; saw the knife wound to the head. She’d probably taken care of it. When he didn’t see her after a mile or so he decided she survived intact.

Roamers probably weren’t enough to scare her back to the safety of the Sanctuary. They’d been on the move she said. Lots of dead people all over. She was probably desensitized to them already.

When he got to the little town he parked the car and got out. His guys said she was in a bookstore when they nabbed her. A couple buildings in. They’d be out here after he came back, to properly loot the surrounding buildings. People would spend points on all kinds of little baubles to keep their mind off the world. Sometimes he sent his scavengers out for things like books, some of the wives were well read, but also for books on gardening, building, things that people could learn to better the Sanctuary…

He grabbed Lucille from the passenger seat and hopped out. He had a knife on him, the bag that Simon packed him, and last the flashlight he’d used to see the dead walker got clipped to his beltloop. Now to see if she was still around. She shouldn’t have beaten him here by much even if she ran some of the way.

He took in the surrounding area in the light of the moon, there were a few walkers up ahead, but he’d barely shut the door so they hadn’t noticed him yet. Then he took in the buildings. Charming’s Books. There. He hurried over to the side of the building, peeking in the storefront window. It was still surprisingly intact from what little he could see. So was the door. Must have been unlocked, no reason to break it in. He frowned as he saw light between the bookshelves, too much for just a flashlight, maybe a lantern of some kind. He didn’t wait when he heard shouting. It was a man’s voice. Negan checked the door moving inside.

Then he could make out what the man was yelling, “You little bitch! Your daddy said to stay out of your cunt, so I’m gonna shove my dick up your ass!”

He moved further in, finding Jac trying to scramble away from a man kneeling over her, tearing at her clothes. There was indeed a lantern, looked battery powered, on the ground next to them, a flashlight was spun out behind them, and he could see her knife further in front of Jac. When the man produced his own knife, slicing open the side of Jac’s shorts Negan strode right over and swung Lucille home against the man’s temple.

Jac shot forward after the loud impact noise sounded. She grabbed her knife sliding around on to her butt, and held it out in front of her ready to fend off the next person too. Only she found Negan bringing Lucille down on Hunter’s head again... and again. When he turned to look at her Jac dropped the knife, and she could tell she was going to cry, but she tried to put it off.

Negan watched her drop the knife and moved closer to her. The bottom half of her shirt was holding on by maybe an inch of fabric, the side of her shorts and underwear were gaping open, and blood was seeping from a fine line of red on her skin. Her lip was busted now too. Her shoulders were shaking, her head was down, and he was positive she was holding her breath so she wouldn’t sob. He propped Lucille up against the nearest bookshelf and kneeled down in front of her, just out of what would be her bubble. “Hey Little Girl,” Negan called out to her.

Jac looked up at him as she took the smallest breaths possible. When he just stayed there Jac felt like her chest was going to pop, and she held her arms out to him. She didn’t know what else to do. She didn’t even know why she was doing this in the first place. She was still surprised when he crawled forward more and pulled her against him. Somehow even if she wanted this, she had doubted that he’d hold her. _For once_ she got what she wanted, and Jac couldn’t help but cry.

Negan pulled her up into his lap, one of her legs on either side of his. He let her cry into his shoulder, held her tight because it was just the most heartbreaking noise he'd ever heard, as he checked her hip. As soon as she stood up these shorts were a goner, but the cut on her hip was shallow, not too long. He let her get the worst of her feelings out, going as far as to rock her until her tears slowed a bit. She whimpered a little as he crooked a finger under her chin and lifted her face so he could get a look at her lip. Only she sucked her lower lip into her mouth to try and stop from crying in his face.

“Uh-huh, open that sweet little mouth of yours,” Negan huffed giving her chin a little shake.

Jac took a deep breath through her nose and wiped at her eyes with the palms of her hands. Then she opened her mouth a bit for him. She watched his face as he looked at her lip trying to find anything to stop her from crying at him. Her breathing was still shaky but she tried to hold it together. He was really close to her face. His eyes were brown. He was kind of scruffy, but… he was handsome.

Was she allowed to think someone was handsome right now?

After what almost happened?

His eyes moved up to hers, and Jac quickly closed her mouth and looked away.

Negan grinned a bit, but decided that teasing her could wait. “Come on I’m taking you back to The Sanctuary.” He got his feet back under him and picked her up at the same time.

Jac shook her head, squirming a bit as she tried to get down. She couldn’t go with him. She couldn’t stay there. Not when she knew why Hunter was told not to rape her, even if he was going to try anyway. Jac needed to be as far from this place as she could. She couldn’t take the chance… Besides wasn’t this like taking candy from strangers, or going to someone’s car because they said they had a puppy she could pet?

“I just beat the fucking brains in of someone who threatened to rape your ass,” Negan said as he hiked her higher up his body to make sure she couldn’t get down. He looked up at her to see her still shaking her head. “Yes, that really just fucking happened.” She glared at him, but he continued anyway, “Now compare that to fresh as fuck strawberries. Are you still telling me you’re not coming back?”

Jac didn’t move. She didn’t consent, but she didn’t keep shaking her head. He had saved her, given her food, and he let her go… As far as taking candy from strangers this was probably the best she was going to get in a land full of strangers offering goodies.  Maybe she could tell him what she knew… Maybe she wouldn’t have to if it didn’t happen… He was right, no one was getting in there that he didn’t let in. They weren’t trying to get in to hurt anyone. With the possible exception of her. If she had to she’d find a way out. “I nn-need my bag…” Jac hiccupped as she tried to calm down further. “Get ch-changed…” She wasn’t walking back in there torn up and bleeding. Everyone would peg her for prey right there. She’d never make it like that. She had a chance as the silent one who held her own against three men and got food from Negan.

Negan put her down, but watched her like a hawk as she gripped her shorts to keep them up, and awkwardly retrieved her flashlight. Once she was situated he snatched up Lucille and the latern before following after her. She led him to the back of the store where there was a small sitting area. He moved over and dropped into one of the overstuffed armchairs while she pulled her bag from behind the one in the corner. She sat down, digging through the bag. She brought out clothes, but then she looked up at him with a frown. “Well excuse me,” Negan chuckled as he stood back up, leaving the lantern in the chair. He moved back around the chair and turned on his own flashlight after unhooking it from his belt. He used it to look around. It seemed to just be a lot of shelves with a lot of books. There were some knickknacks on tables here and there.

Jac watched him for a moment to see if he’d look back at her, but when he didn’t she dropped her flashlight onto the chair closest to her, and quickly pulled her ruined shorts and underwear off, discarding the knife's sheath onto the chair for the moment. That hurt, but she still pulled the next pair of underwear on. Then she pulled her ruined tank top off and used the inside to clean off some of the blood. She didn’t have any first aid supplies so she’d just have to leave it and hope for the best.

Negan frowned as he checked over his shoulder. “Hey, aren’t you gonna clean that?”

“Hey!” Jac squeaked before she could stop herself. She curled in on herself a bit.

“Oh it’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” Negan huffed as he pulled off his backpack, going back around the chair. “You gotta clean that up, or it might get infected. Fuck knows that knife wasn’t clean.”

She would have told him that she didn’t have anything, but he came up with one of those travel first aid kits. “I c-can…” Jac started when he deposited the lantern on the floor and sat down, obviously intending to clean her up himself.

“So can I,” Negan huffed, waving her closer to him. He put the flashlight next to his leg so he wouldn't lose track of it. “Come ‘ere. Haven’t you ever worn a bikini?”

Jac shook her head, and grumbled, “No.”

“That better have been the answer to my question,” Negan insisted. “I’ve been itching to take you right over my knee.”

Jac whined in the back of her throat, even if she carefully shuffled closer to him. It felt like her whole torso spasmed when his warm hands grabbed her waist to bring her closer, and face her to the side so he could get to her hip.

“Hey, some people think it’s hot,” Negan said as he winked up at her.

Jac looked down at him skeptically as she crossed her arms over her chest and belly. When he just shrugged off her look she looked off in front of herself, trying not to imagine what he was thinking about her. Trying not to worry about what she looked like to him. Trying not to be too hopeful.

Negan hummed a bit as he pushed her black underwear further up her hip and started cleaning the cut. He couldn’t believe she wasn’t going to clean this. He took the time to look at her too. Her skin looked smooth, even if it seemed like she could use a bath. They got the water working at the Sanctuary, she could take one later. The bruises on her side went from her hip up to just under where her bra sat. It made him angry to look at the bruises though so he inspected the rest of her. The bra was black and rather simple as well. Practical as opposed to frilly things he gave his wives. When he glanced back down he noticed how she clenched her thighs together next, and looked up at her face.

He was rubbing his thumb against her hip, under her panties. It felt so different to have someone touching her like this. The pads of Negan’s fingers were rough, but he was being really gentle. She couldn’t look at him. If she looked at him it’d just be worse. She bit at her lip even though it was already busted. Only then he swatted the back of her upper thigh and she gasped. She jerked away from him as she her eyes flew down to meet his. She was embarrassed.

“You cut that shit out,” Negan growled as he stood up and grabbed her chin. He turned back grabbing a gauze pad, ripping that open to clean her chin and mouth. He didn’t want to get alcohol in her mouth. At least not this kind. “It couldn’t have hurt that bad. I was just cleaning it.”

Jac’s eyes widened. “Y-you weren’t hur…” Jac trailed off as she ducked her head. That hadn’t been why she was biting her lip.

“Oh,” Negan hummed. “Other way around huh?” When she nodded, he grinned. Well fuck him sideways. She couldn’t go hurting herself though. He leaned down to put his lips at her ear, his hand on her shoulder as he told her softly, “You’re allowed to like it when I touch you.” When she didn’t move he asked, “You fucking know that right?”

Jac just shrugged.

Negan frowned as he discarded the gauze on the floor with the wipe. “Get dressed, get your knife, and let’s get you out of here.”

oOo

Jac curled up in the seat next to Negan, keeping her eyes out the window. She knew she was making him frustrated, but she didn’t know how to talk about this without sounding like an idiot. He had let it go for a little while, but now he started up again. Probably now that the high of taking down the two walkers that had been outside the door had worn off he felt the need to readdress the conversation.

“Feeling good is a normal thing,” Negan said as he looked over at her. She’d put shorts on again, but now she was wearing a tight little black t-shirt that made him want to skim his fingers down her sides. Pain was what most people found unnatural, but taking in the cuts and bruises he could see he figured pain wasn’t a stranger to her. Unfortunately, pleasure wasn’t something you could just force-feed.

“I… I guess…” Jac sighed, wishing he hadn’t stashed her bag in the trunk. She wanted something to hold onto bigger than a water bottle. After a few sips though she had to put the bottle down because she kept crushing it. She’d almost spilled it all over the place.

“Not _I guess_ Little Girl. I am fucking right,” Negan insisted as he took a quick look at her, only she curled even further in on herself. He could tell just by looking at her that she was trying to rationalize feeling otherwise. “You deserve to feel good.”

“I don’t feel that way!” Jac shouted at him before she could really think about it. She certainly couldn’t take it back. Not when he stopped the car in the middle of the road. Still she glared at him.

“You wanna run that by me again?” Negan asked as he glared right back at her. She backed down, looking at her lap.

Jac shook her head as she pushed herself closer to the door. Her gaze planting itself right on her knees. She knew it’d just get her in trouble to say it again. No one ever wanted to hear something they didn’t want to hear in the first place twice.

They were silent for a moment…

“That why you cried when I held you?” Negan asked as he reached across and pushed his fingers through her hair. She tried so hard to be still, to not give anything away, that she shook instead. “You’re allowed to feel good.” Negan insisted again.

“I’m… I’m f-fucked up…” Jac whispered capturing the hand in her hair with both of hers. She expected him to pull away, maybe stubbornly push his fingers back into her hair, but instead he let her keep his hand resting just above her knee. She held his in both of hers, watching carefully as his fingers twined with hers, which was good because she didn’t want to let him go. He was saying all this weird stuff, and he was making her feel weird. She liked it though, and if he was going to let her she was going to keep him a little longer. She let the fingers of the hand not interlocked with his trace his knuckles hesitantly.

“Who isn’t fucked up anymore?” Negan shrugged himself this time. After a while he spotted some movement in the woods around them and took his hand back just long enough to turn the car back on, then he held his hand out for her to take again if she wanted. She pulled his hand back to her knee, holding him there. He glanced at her before giving a toothy smirk as he put his foot on the gas. “Alright Sweetheart, we’ll start you out slow. Holding hands is a good first step.”

He let her keep his hand after that. Negan couldn’t help but grin about it too. He held onto one of her hands, but the other kept ghosting over his knuckles, down the back of his hand to his wrist, and over his fingers where they were linked with hers. A glance told him she was watching their hands with interest. When he flexed his fingers she frowned, trying to contain them as they played with hers. She slid his hand further up her leg as she tried to gain control, but he glanced at her right as she looked at him and it obviously embarrassed her that he caught her playing. She tried to retreat, but he held onto her hand, and she gripped his hand again with both of hers.

Negan chuckled as he returned his eyes to the road.

Jac smiled just slightly. She’d never held hands with someone like this. She’d never just held someone’s hand to hold their hand. Negan’s was so much bigger than hers. While she wasn’t exactly baby soft the pads of his fingers were so rough. Her eyes moved back over to him as he drove and Jac wondered why he let her go at all. He’d obviously been out there looking for her. She wondered if he would have left her be for a while if she hadn’t been attacked. Jac gripped his hand a little harder, and tried not to think about it after that.


	3. Hot Commidity

Jac frowned as she followed Negan through the factory. There were some people on watch, but it wasn’t the hustle of earlier when she’d first been brought here. Not wanting to linger in the attention she’d earned by simply being there again she nearly jogged to keep up with Negan. Once he led her up the stairs Jac slowed a bit. There were doors on both sides of the hall, and she couldn’t help but wonder what was behind all of them. Of course, she’d learned even before the apocalypse that you did not go opening doors unless you were positive you knew what was on the other side. Surprises, in her experience, usually hurt.

“Hey, Kiddo, get over here,” Negan insisted as he stopped at his door and noticed she was still closer to the stairs than him. It wouldn’t do if one of the wives stuck their head out, and got all up in a huff because she got to go in his room when they didn’t. Even on the rare occasions when they sought him out he usually went down to his office with them, or back to their room. Some of them weren’t into the audience, but wanted a bed, and he used a spare room up here or dismissed the other wives out of the room.

“Sorry,” Jac said as she hurried over to him. He opened the door after that and ushered her in. Then he shut the door behind him, but she was too caught up in the room. It was huge. She suspected it must have been the boss' office, or maybe they busted down a wall and this use to be a few offices, but now it was definitely his bedroom. The walls were grey, the ceiling white, and his bed was red and black. That wasn’t the only furniture either. He had a large desk, with a highbacked black computer chair. A red armchair next to a small circular table.

Negan walked over and set Lucille up against the end table next to the bed. Then he turned back around to Jac to see her standing there looking around at everything. “You like it?” Negan asked when she fidgeted with the strap of her bag, her eyes falling on him.

Jac nodded, “It’s… it’s like a real room.” Only she frowned after that. “I… that sounded dumb…It’s just…” Rubbing the back of her neck she looked down at the ground saying deliberately, “This is _your room_ , you _live here_.”

Negan looked around himself at that. He guessed having a room was sort of a hot commodity. Hell, not everyone in the Sanctuary had one of these. There were sleeping quarters and everyone had at least some kind of cot, most people had old sheets or curtains around their bed for some measure of privacy. You had to be high up to get a room, even then his wives shared. They shared a damn nice, damn big room, that had required knocking down a wall, but it worked. There were plenty of soft places to sleep, a huge bed. They had a nicer bathroom than he did! His eyes found Jac after that though. Maybe he’d give Jac some trumped up title and her own room… For now… He’d probably have to get someone to watch the door so she didn’t get any bright ideas about running off on him. “You do have a point,” Negan nodded before he walked over to the small table and set down the backpack he’d been given. “Now come eat some of this.”

“You al-already….” Jac stopped when he looked at her like she’d grown a second head.

“What? I fed you once today?” Negan asked as he pulled out two plastic containers shaped liked sandwiches. “If you don’t remember it use to be normal for people to eat at least three times a day.” She didn’t need to be any thinner.

“I…” she thought about arguing. Instead she breathed out, “Thank you.”

“Here, you sit down,” Negan said opening one of the containers and finding a peanut butter sandwich. “Eat this, while I get cleaned up.” He pulled out an apple too when he found it, and another bottle of water. “This too, but don’t eat too much and puke everywhere I’m not cleaning that shit.” Neither would she but the threat stood better if he didn’t tell her someone else would be dragged in here to take care of it.

“Got it,” Jac nodded, even as she watched him curiously. She dropped her own bag next to the chair before having a seat. How was he going to get cleaned up in here? She started eating the sandwich smiling as her mouth felt sticky with the taste of peanuts. It was great. He pulled off his jacket and put it over the back of the chair she was sitting on. The glove he was wearing got shoved into a pocket, along with the white athletic sleeve on his other wrist. She watched him move off to a large dresser and pulled out what seemed to be some black linen pants. She knew he was watching her, but she didn’t take her eyes off him. She was too curious as to what he was going to do.

Only he winked at her and disappeared through a door.

She set the sandwich down and took a drink of water as she waited for him to pop out in the pants, but just before she bit into the apple she heard it. Running water. Jac jumped up, only to firmly plant her butt back in the seat. If there was a shower that meant he was probably naked. While she’d been curious to see him shirtless she was not going to go busting in on him naked. She didn’t need to see that much of him. More so he’d definitely say something smart.

Jac continued to eat, alternating between the apple and the peanut butter. Only she kept squirming. They had running water! No running away outside to go to the bathroom! She wondered if there was somewhere she could take a shower. She didn’t care if it was hot or anything! She absently finished off the sandwich but couldn’t get all the way though the apple. The water turned off and she squirmed further.

Even if there was a sink in there she could wash her face!

When Negan walked out of the bathroom he found her staring up at him very intently. Well her eyes trailed down his body, before she shook her head once and once more looked up at his face intently. He let out a chuckle asking, “You want a turn?” He figured she might.

Jac nodded eagerly, jumping right up. “Where?”

“Heh, right in there, Little Girl,” Negan laughed once more as he walked over to the dresser again and this time pulled out one of his white tees. “Take this, it’s clean.” At that she looked a little unsure, and he goaded her, insisting, “Well if you don’t want to shower…”

“I do!” Jac insisted back reaching out for the shirt hopefully. Just because he’d showered in there didn’t mean she couldn’t… and if he’d wanted to see her naked he could have. If he’d wanted to do more she wouldn’t have been able to stop him, especially back at the bookstore.

“Good,” Negan said handing it over before he moved over to the armchair and sat down. “Just throw your clothes in the hamper with mine.” He thought about telling her one of the golden rules around here: No rape, but it hardly ever settled them down at first. Everyone was so ready to believe it was a lie to make them feel better, or a joke; that it couldn’t be a rule. The first lot were relieved when it turned out to be true, but the second usually ended up on the wall. Still he’d give her the rules tomorrow. For now he let her watch him and enjoyed the peanut butter sandwich that had been in the other container.

Jac nodded and watched him for a moment, seeing him start on the second sandwich. She took the moment to take in his wet hair, and his shirtlessness. At least he was intent on eating and wasn’t watching her check him out. After he seemed to remain content Jac moved into the bathroom, shutting the door. She looked around and found there was a shower stall, incased in glass, and Jac decided she would ask about this little addition later. There was a sink with a mirror above it, a hamper with his clothes in it, a toilet, which she was grateful for and used. It all seemed rather practical, and really very clean… She wondered if he cleaned it himself or if someone came in here and cleaned for him. As she turned on the shower and waited for it to warm back up she decided someone definitely cleaned for him. There was not one cleaning supply to be seen. A toothbrush in a cup and toothpaste sat on the edge of the sink. A comb sat on the other side.

Jac pulled out of her clothes, putting the toilet lid down to set them on top of along with her knife. Then she opened the glass door to the shower and stepped in. She had a brush at least, that comb wouldn’t be enough for all her hair if she wanted to be timely. She did wonder what it would cost her to get a toothbrush. The one she had was in major need of replacement… Only her mind was dragged from her oral hygiene right then.

The water was heaven!

She stood there for a while brushing her fingers through her hair and over her body to get rid of the dirt she could always seem to feel on her skin no matter what. Conscious of the man on the other side of the door though, she pulled herself back together and inspected a little ledge with shampoo and soap. She opened the shampoo and it smelled like she assumed it should. Perhaps they found it unopened somewhere? Jac quickly went to work on her hair. She’d nearly butchered it a month or so ago when she’d decided it was too long… and some of the guys were looking at her too much. It didn’t look too bad now, but she was just glad it was going to be clean!

Clean, she was going to be clean! Real, smell good, clean!

She found a washcloth draped over the bar to open the door back up and started on her body. It just seemed to be a regular white bar of soap. Maybe Dove? It was still great.

When the water washing off her was clear Jac couldn’t help but grin. She wanted to stay in here forever! She gave in though and turned off the water. She squeezed the extra water out of her hair and carefully got out, grabbing a red towel from a towel rack next to the shower stall. Even the towels were soft!

Once she was dressed, wearing his shirt, and the underwear she’d just put on before, she didn’t know what to do next. It was right then that she realized she was once more about to be in front of Negan in next to nothing. She gathered her clothes and put them in the hamper like he’d told her to, and then regarded the door warily. She looked at her knife sitting on the lid to the toilet, and grabbed it up before opening the door.

Negan was still sitting in the chair right where she left him. Now he had some papers in his hand though, and was looking them over. Jac walked over to the desk as she watched him, and put her knife down on the desk. He’d since looked up at her, and she bit the inside of her cheek as she thought about what she should do.

“You’re gonna bite through your cheek like that,” Negan huffed when he figured out what she was doing instead of biting her lip.

Jac stopped immediately, loosening her jaw. When he kept looking at her though she said, “Maybe… I should sleep… somewhere else?”

“I don’t bite sweetheart,” Negan grinned, “Not unless yah want me to.”

Jac’s eyes widened, and her words just tumbled out, “It’s not…. Just… I d-don’t know?”

“You don’t know if you want me to bite you?” Negan asked teasingly.

Jac felt even more flustered as her mind raced in too many different directions to catch. “Th-th-th-ats nnnnot w-what I mm-meant!” Jac stuttered and stammered before she shot back from him, hitting the corner of the desk, her whole body rigid, and her eyes clamped shut. It hurt but she was too scared to move.

_Shit._

Negan stood straight up at that, watching as she shrank in on herself right before his eyes.

_Shit. Fuck._

That’s why she was so quiet. It’d been staring him right in the face the whole time. How she said as little as possible, how she repeated herself here and there. She stammered, or stuttered, or whatever it was called. He’d heard it slip, but it hadn’t stood out in his mind until right now. That fucker of a sperm donor probably only beat her harder when she slipped up, and now she was waiting for him to do the same.

“It’s okay Jac,” Negan told her gently. He walked closer, careful not to come too close until she peeked up at him. “I’m not gonna hit you like that.” She had managed to give him more than one mouthy _look_ though, and he was not above spanking her. Down the road he’d bite her just to see if she did like it. He’d introduce her to many a new thing he was sure, but he said they’d go slow. Holding hands after he stopped someone from raping her slow. Holding hands was a little fast, slow, but she started it so it was okay, slow. So slow she probably didn’t realize he meant it, but he was keeping his gift damn it.

Right now though, he laced his fingers back into her now wet hair and coaxed her forward. She needed someone to show her some fucking tenderness too. She moved where he wanted, up against him, but her hands hovered just above his skin as though she were afraid to touch him. A sigh escaped him, and keeping one hand in her hair he used the other to press one of her hands to his side.

Jac stiffened, but after a moment she forced herself to lean into him more. Her arms moved around his middle more, her hands flattened against his back. He was warm. She had just finally relaxed when he started coaxing her towards the bed. He always managed to keep a hand on her, in her hair, the side of her neck, her shoulder, but she didn’t feel like she was being pushed or pulled. He got her to crawl onto the bed first, and he followed after her. Not knowing what else to do at this point she shuffled down to lay next to him. She didn’t resist when he pulled her up against him again. One of her arms was tucked up between them, but the other laid over top of him.

Negan hid his grin in her damp hair. Her fingers lightly rubbed at his skin, drawing soft patterns on his side. He wondered if she’d ever touched someone this much. He doubted it. Still he kept his hands from roaming, instead he kept his arms firmly around her.


	4. All That Knocking

Negan woke to Jac squirming around. He grumbled as he moved enough to look down at the girl. She was whimpering and trying to press closer, but still asleep. If she wasn’t careful she’d just hurt her side more. Judging by how her light brown hair was dry they’d been asleep for a while, but judging by the barest hints of sun in his windows it hadn’t been long enough. He threw a leg over her, and pulled her closer to him once more and murmured, “Shh… It’s okay Little Girl… I got ya… shhh... That’s my good girl…”  After that she seemed to settle down, and Negan closed his eyes again.

Only that’s when the knocking started.

Negan jumped out of bed and snatched up Lucille in the same moment, hoping to get there before they woke Jac. “The fuck do you want?” Negan seethed before he even got the door all the way open. It was one of his wives, Lily. He moved out into the hallway before she could shriek, like he suspected she would, and shut the door.

“Well I was coming to fuck you, but you seem to be working on another wife there.” Lily insisted as she crossed her arms over her chest, clearly not pleased with the man in front of her.

She wasn’t shrieking… he suspected he’d prefer shrieking. He could deal with jealous shrieking. A few nice words, reassurance there was enough of him to go around, possibly some PG-13 to R rated cuddling, and everyone was placated. However, right now, she was clearly not really all that interested in his body. Which, that part, was fine. He wasn’t all that interested in her body right now either. “You do not come to fuck me this early in the morning unless you want something,” Negan ignored the last half of what she said. He didn’t know what he was working on with Jac, and he wasn’t about to say that to the woman in front of him. She’d twist it up and fuck with Jac.

“Oh, that your special little gift from yesterday? You usually don’t ask what I want until after we’re finished,” Lily said flipping her long black hair over her shoulder. “She good?”

Negan’s spine stiffened, but he wasn’t altogether sure why. Lily didn’t stop though, and he was seriously considering kicking the woman out on her ass.

“She into girls too? We can share her,” Lily grinned leaning forward conspiratorially.

Negan pointed Lucille right at Lily saying, “She sure as fuck is not for _you_.”

Lily frowned as she was faced with Lucille. “You wouldn’t hit me,” she insisted, though she didn’t sound absolutely positive about that right now.

“No, I damn well would not,” Negan grinned as he propped Lucille up on his shoulder and leaned in close. “I don’t particularly need to though, do I?” They all knew there were worse things than being smacked. Hell, there were worse things than meeting Lucille.

“No,” Lily said simply, quietly.

“Now what is it you wanted?” Negan asked as he moved around her and ushered her with his free arm down the hall.

“My own room,” Lily insisted, sensing she might get her way if she just left him alone. She’d check out his little present later.

“How about I send the boys out to find that futon I talked about putting in there? You can call dibs the second you walk back into your room,” Negan offered the alternative. Lily pouted at him. “I’m not giving you your own room. If I give you your own room, then the other wives will expect their own rooms. I just can’t give away that many rooms, and I can’t give you something I’m not giving them.”

“What about the little girl in your room?” Lily retorted pulling away from him. “We don’t get to go in there.”

It didn’t come out of his mouth, but his first thought was that Jac was different. Instead he schooled his features. “You want the fucking futon or not?” He did not have to explain himself to anyone let alone her.

Lily was pissed, but she still pulled it together, “You’ll back up my claim to it?”

“I backed up Frankie’s claim to the couch, didn’t I?” Negan offered, even if he knew this wasn’t the last of it.

“Good, it’s a deal then,” Lily said pulling Negan down into a kiss. He pressed his lips to hers sure, but that was it. Not even any tongue, which confused both of them frankly. He opened the door for her before walking back down the hall to his room.

Negan frowned, he’d have to find a really good fucking reason to give Jac her own room now. He wasn’t sure what to do about it, but for now he’d get a little more sleep with her. Only once in his room he found Jac sitting up. The only consolation was that she looked relieved to see him. “Hey Little Girl,” Negan said as he shut and locked the door. When he looked back at her she waved a bit at him. “Hey, none of that. Where’s my fucking greeting?”

“G-g-morning…” Jac mumbled keeping her voice down.

Negan moved back over to the bed and sat down on the other side from where he’d been sleeping. Now he was right next to her, and he pushed his fingers into her hair saying, “That’s my good girl.” He nuzzled her temple before he looked down at her and caught her smiling.

Jac did smile before she frowned once more. Then she looked at Negan out the corner of her eye saying slowly, sadly, “I’m… not going t-to make it here…”

Negan rested his chin on top of her head at that. There were rules sure. He’d tell her the rules later. That didn’t mean she was entirely wrong. He couldn’t let her out to scavenge, he doubted she’d come back, on top of that her “father” was out there looking for her. He certainly wasn’t going to let her whore herself out for points. He couldn’t put her anywhere she’d have to converse with others, silent could be badass, stuttering less so. That covered pretty much every non-demeaning job they had around here. Putting his lips to her temple Negan huffed, “You’re mine. No one is going to touch you.”

Jac’s frown deepened at that. “Who was at the door?” Jac asked carefully. She would control it. She would control her voice, even if she knew a woman had been at the door. She didn’t know about being his. She didn’t know if she could be.

“Lily,” Negan sighed gruffly. He moved his hand from her hair to around her shoulders. “One of my wives.”

“Oh,” Jac breathed, feeling like she’d been punched in the stomach.

_You’re different._

It didn’t come out, even as she stiffened in his hold. He didn’t know if he could tell her, or anyone, why she was different. She just was. _You just are_ – was never good enough in his experience.

“I… I th-think I better g-g-go.” Jac said as she tried to pull away from him. He had more than one wife, and she was sure they were all prettier and more experience than her. Whatever this had been, was clearly over. He’d probably been told they needed him, and he was trying to think of a way to get her out of his hair. She’d never been in a relationship, and she didn’t know about this being her first one anyway. She didn’t know how to feel about liking someone that not only had a wife, but had more than one. The end of the world was not the time to take an interest in anyone, let alone an older man. Sleeping here had been a huge mistake.

Negan kept a hold of her when she tried to pull away. “It’s still early, let’s go back to sleep,” They’d wake up and start this over.

“W-what about…” Jac didn’t know how to keep going.

“Lily wanted something she damn-well knows she’s not going to get,” Negan said as he pushed his fingers up into her hair again, and his other hand spanned her belly. When she tried to say something, Negan told her, “Don’t worry about it.”

“I… I’ve never b-b-been ina re…relationship, and this isssn’t…” Jac said as she managed to crawl away from him. “I dunno w-what thisis!I dunnowhattodo! Idunno w-what you w-w-want!” She didn’t know what she was even supposed to want.

Negan watched carefully as she crawled to the other side of the bed. She sat to face him as she talked, getting more and more excited, tripping over her words saying some of them so fast it was hard to follow, but he knew what was wrong either way. “Come back here and we’ll talk about this…”

Jac shook her head. She didn’t want to talk anymore. She couldn’t talk right, and it wasn’t helping. She couldn’t go back over there and let him touch her all nice, like he always did. It made her feel weird and she kept forgetting that she couldn’t stay here.

“You are quickly coming to the end of your chances Baby Girl,” Negan said as he focused on her. She fidgeted as she looked back at him. He could see her gears turning. She was trying to weigh her options. This time he’d let her think about it. Her hands gripped at the blankets under her, her eyes squeezed shut, and he knew she wasn’t going to move. He did. He moved up onto his knees and grabbed her ankle, pulling her under him as he crawled over her. A whimper caught up in her throat as her eyes snapped back open to look at him. “Now you are going to ask me a question, or state a fucking concern, and you will give me a chance to fucking talk this time.”

Jac shook her head. She didn’t want to do this. She wanted to tell him to let her go, but she wouldn’t be able to get it out. When he seemed to growl above her she struggled onto her belly.

“Jacqueline, now,” Negan ground out against the back of her neck.

His hand gripped her uninjured side and Jac wasn’t sure how she felt scared and warm at the same time. “W-w-what do you want ffrom me?” Jac whimpered against the bed.

“Better,” Negan praised her, pushing her hair out of her face. When she looked at him he gave a rueful grin, this was probably going to scare her. It made him see red that she would be less scared if he beat her, but there wasn’t anything he could do about that right now. In the end he leaned down and breathed right against the back of her ear, “I want a whole fucking lot from you. We’re talking much more than holding hands in the car Little Girl. I want to be _the only one_ to touch you. I want you to obey when I give orders. I want you to love every fucking second of it.” Jac shrunk underneath him, but he just used the opportunity to stop gripping her side, and instead slid his hand up and down her back. “We’ll take it slow, but I bet you can be not just my little girl, but my dirty little girl too. I bet you’ll like it even when I spank you, because let’s face it you’re going right over my knee the next time you refuse to listen to me. No more warnings.” He paused to let that sink in before asking “Now what’s your next problem?”

Jac was careful not to shake her head, and instead she concentrated on the hand on her back as it slid up one of her arms to lace his fingers with hers. She took a few deep breathes, unsure why that made her heart race. Unsure why she was suddenly much more aware of his legs boxing her in. It took another breath before she could say, “You have _wives_.”

He pressed his lips to her shoulder, and spoke against his tee on her body, “I do.”

Jac shifted so she could press her forehead to the bed, so he couldn’t see her face. “I’m n-new, but I’m… I’m nnot a child. I w-won’t be p-part of a-a… collection.”

“Oh no?” Negan asked as he leaned up and pushed and pulled her onto her back so she was looking up at him again.

Jac didn’t want to talk anymore! “You heard me!” She growled up at him.

Negan couldn’t help how his face split into a grin, and he bit his tongue a bit in thought. “Well damn if you can’t just spit out what you want to say when you’re being mouthy!” Negan said as he moved from over her.

Jac sat up, pulling her knees up to her chest watching him carefully.

“I’m not going to force you to be my wife,” Negan said as he rubbed his hand down his face. There was no way he was going to get to go back to sleep with her after this. He wasn’t putting her in there with those harpies anyway. They always tore into the new ones. Like they were a sorority hazing a pledge. It always brought them closer to him in the beginning, the new ones would cling the second he walked in. He wouldn’t subject Jac to it though.

“So… so w-why ca-can’t I leave?” Jac asked her mind rushing too much to reign in the stammering. She couldn’t decide if she wanted to look at him or not. Her eyes kept bouncing between his face, body, and the bed under her.

“Cause you’re still mine,” Negan said as he walked back over to the bed too look her right in the eye. “You. Are. _All_. Mine.” He told her slow, and serious. “You can tell me no, but it’s true. We won’t go farther than you want, but it won’t change that no one else gets you. You can tell me not to touch you, and I’ll keep my hands to myself. You can tell me to leave you alone, and I will leave you _all_ _alone._ ” He saw her eyebrows push together as she looked up at him and he guessed at her question, “Oh, I bet you’re wondering how I’ma take you over my knee if you tell me not to touch you.” When he got the barest hint of a nod he leaned down so his knuckles supported his weight on the bed telling her with the toothiest grin, “There are worse things than me spanking you Doll. We have a bonafide prison downstairs, and if you’re real bad we’ll blast the same song into your cell on a loop until you beg me to take you over my knee. Then I’ll get to punish you twice.”

Jac suspected that was how he’d leave her all alone too. She didn’t say that though. She gripped the hem of his shirt and pushed it down to cover her underwear since she was sitting with her legs out. She just wasn’t sure what to say to a statement so bold.

Moving further onto the bed, gripping her ankle but not pulling her under him this time, Negan asked her, “So do I need to keep my hands to myself? Do I need to leave you alone?”

Jac wondered if she should say yes. Part of her just wanted to see what would happen. If it was bad though she knew she’d be too stubborn to change her mind the moment she figured out she didn’t want to go through with it. She shook her head at that. “No... just I… if I’m not your wife… but I’m still yours…w-w-what am I g-going to do?”

Negan frowned. What were they going to do? He couldn’t give her points just for standing around being pretty. She wasn’t a wife. Jac would have to do something mildly useful to get herself some points to tide her over if he was ever away. While he was around it wouldn’t matter he’d feed her off his name, let her sleep in here, or set her up in an empty room. Keep her comfortable…

Then there was more damn knocking on his door before he could find a suitable answer for her.

He huffed, grabbed Lucille and made his way once more to the door. This time it was Simon. “What the fuck do you want?”

“The men are getting ready to head out and Lily seems under the impression that she is getting a futon today,” Simon said as he waved vaguely off down the hallway.

“Yeah, she is,” Negan huffed as he ran his fingers through his hair. “Don’t go out of your way, but if you run across one bring it back. Find a red or a black cover for it, some more sheets and blankets for the wives too. Some for people to buy.”

“Yeah, we’ll get on it Negan,” Simon said, before his eyes trailed back behind him to where Jac was on the bed. He was uncertain about her, but there she was sitting on Negan’s bed, so he still asked, “Your new wife need something special?”

“Jac has declined to be my wife just yet,” Negan said with a grin as he pointed back at her with Lucille. “She wants ta take things _slow_.” Then just like that it hit him and he hopped a bit to shift his weight from one foot to the other to look at her. The thought struck him and he swung Lucille up on his shoulder proudly as he insisted, “Damn I know what you can do!” It would keep her in his sight more often than not too. He leaned back and grinned at Simon saying, “Jac is my new personal assistant. She gets to follow me about and write down the things I need her to. She gets to read through the fucking inventory after I teach her how, because I am fucking tired of that shit. Get my damn coffee and whatever the fuck else I need from her!”

Simon worked his jaw for a moment before he offered again, “Is there anything you want for her?”

“Look for some notebooks, pens, pencils, and make sure you get in the bookstore and get some more books,” Negan said turning all the way back to Simon. Before Simon could bow out Negan remembered, “Oh, yeah and next time you see Ezekiel you tell him I want a bit of every fruit he has. Not too much of each, just a sampler, you decide how to break it down to them after they tell you what they got again. See if they got tea too.”

“I’ll get on it Negan,” Simon said before Negan nodded his dismissal.

Once the door was shut Negan looked back to Jac as he set Lucille down, and found her curling in on herself. “What happened to you?” Negan asked as he moved back over to her. “Don’t wanna be my assistant?”

“It’s nnnot that… H-he doesn’t like me,” Jac said before she moved to the side of the bed when Negan patted the space in front of him.

Negan cupped the side of her neck for a moment before he leaned down to press his forehead to hers. “Don’t worry about Simon, you just worry about me.” He watched her watch him for a bit, before he grinned down at her. “Hey, how about a kiss?”

Jac stared up at him, and she got the horrible feeling that she was the picture of a deer in headlights. When his grin turned nearly feral she was positive she looked like something he wanted to eat up. “I-I dunno,” Jac stammered out, flustered. She’d always wondered what being kissed was really like, but she didn’t know about this. She tried not to shrink away from him, but kept herself from moving forward as well.

Negan settled for kissing her forehead before he moved back up off the bed. “How about you get dressed, and throw the rest of your clothes in the hamper in the bathroom, and I’ll take you down to breakfast.” Negan moved around himself to get his clothes out as well.

Jac watched him for a bit before she padded over to her bag and slunk off to the bathroom to get changed. She suspected that if she waited much longer he’d start changing in front of her, and she got the feeling that he wasn’t wearing anything under those pajama pants. He didn’t say anything though, so she didn’t hesitate, just in case he was thinking about stopping her.

In all honesty he thought about stopping her. Telling her it wasn’t anything he hadn’t seen before like he did at the book store. Still, Negan let her go because he just kissed her on the forehead because she didn’t know if she wanted to kiss him. It was better than a no. Getting out of his pajama pants and into his other clothes, he couldn’t help but scrunch his nose and smile. This was going to be fun. Getting a woman hadn’t been this hard since he was in his teens.

After a while when she walked out Jac found him waiting for her. She was wearing her last pair of shorts, and a black and white plaid shirt. The material was light, she rolled the sleeves up to her elbows. Still she fidgeted looking at him. She’d left her combat boots in the bathroom the night before, so she was ready to go with them on already, but she felt like everyone outside the door knew. Knew she was just some scared little girl Negan brought back because she’d been attacked. A scared little girl that cried when he held her, and expected him to smack her across the mouth for stuttering.

Negan frowned as she dropped her bag by the door, and stood there her hands clasping behind her back. “Hey, you are badass,” Negan insisted as he came and got right in her face to make her look at him, “You fought like a hellcat. Shit, I applauded you in front of my men. You will not be afraid to go down to breakfast, you aren’t fucking allowed. You hear me kid?”

Jac nodded as she inspected their shoes, toe to toe.

“Hey, in this room you use your fucking words with me, even if you do stutter,” Negan told her as he pushed his forehead to hers. That seemed to spark some fire in her eyes. He leaned back just enough to see her open her mouth, but then she snapped it back shut. “Oh, oh! Say it!” Negan goaded her biting the tip of his tongue a little as he watched her. “Go on! I bet you were about to be a mouthy little thing. I wanna hear it.” When she shook her head he leaned this way and that, “Come on, say it Little Girl, I won’t punish you for it. Would I have swatted that sweet little backside of yours? Come on use your words.”

Jac narrowed her eyes at him and took a step back, as she snapped “You want me ta call you _Sir_ too?”

“Oh! you better be careful,” Negan swore as he moved back closer. Then he breathed against her temple, “I might want you to call me Sir all the _fucking_ time.”


	5. Already Know You So Well

“On your feet!” Negan announced when he got in the kitchens. Everyone else that they passed Negan just walked away from, and Jac would see them stand up after a while. Jac watched silently from near the door when he walked over to the nearest cook, swinging Lucille around absentmindedly. Though everyone else around him was very aware of his bat. He talked to the cook, and Jac looked around some more. There were what seemed to be eggs being cooked. Some people were putting sandwiches together… A few people were looking back at her, but they were just as quick as she was to look away.

She couldn’t help but notice there were so many people around this place, but Jac was sure there were more people here than there was food being prepared… Perhaps mornings were not a big food time… Jac tried to rationalize it but she also remembered Negan talking about points yesterday when he’d given her the strawberries. She doubted everyone lived as well as Negan, or the large men with guns.

After a few minutes Negan walked back over to her and smirked as he told her, “Hey Little Girl, they’re gonna cook us up some real scrambled eggs, and someone in here managed to make cheese that doesn’t taste like ass, so I’m having them throw that on too. You like milk?”

Rather overwhelmed Jac managed to nod, but her eyes caught onto the man Negan had been talking to. The tall man was running around gathering things as he shouted something about coffee at a teenaged boy who proceeded to panic and run off too.

“Good, I asked for a glass for you,” Negan said as he looked around, “You like coffee?”

Jac shook her head and told him simply, “Too bitter.” Small sentences were the trick. Well thought out small sentences. No one would get wise, but they’d hear her talk.

“I knew you were my sweet girl,” Negan insisted as he caught her watching the man starting on their food. Then his eyes cut across to the teen bringing him a mug. “The coffee is swill anyway, but I’ve had worse.” Negan took the cup, and Jac leaned this way and that to see it had at least milk in it if not sugar too. This entire end of the world thing made her wonder how long the shelf life of most foods were. He took a drink even as he watched her watch him. When she was still watching him interestedly he asked, “You wanna taste it?”

Jac shook her head, scrunching up her nose. Even if it did have sugar in it she’d never been a fan. The cup would have to be mostly sugar. She was surprised there was milk in there. She thought he’d drink it black even if it was awful. “Sugar?” she ended up asking as she pointed at the cup he held.

Negan chuckled a bit shaking his head. “Nah, we haven’t managed to find a renewable source of sugar just yet so I’m not wasting it on something that won’t taste right regardless, but there’s a cow and a couple of goats around here.” They traded with the hilltop and the kingdom regarding the cows and goats, they switched out the cows, but the goats they kept. Last winter saw two goats made into stew for “Christmas.” It’d lifted moral immensely when he’d said no one had to use their points on a bowl. They’d been small bowls but it’d actually made people happy. They’d been more productive for at least a month. Maybe this year they’d slaughter a cow, or he’d send out some competent hunters for a couple deer. The deer meat went fast when it came in, making it free, even in a stew would pick up the pace around here again… He looked down at Jac as he swung Lucille in thought before he asked, “You like deer meat?”

Jac nodded eagerly. The men in her dads group managed to catch a deer once. They’d eaten so well! It’d been the best thing she’d eaten all year. She didn’t even get stiffed, even though she didn’t contribute to much, because they didn’t want it to go to waste.

Negan decided, maybe he’d do it sooner.

Then everyone would associate Jac showing up with something good. Maybe it’d even brighten Simon’s mood towards her. “I’ll get some people on it,” Negan hummed as he gulped down some more coffee.

Jac tilted her head. For her? She worried the inside of her cheek for a moment before she forced herself to stop. She glanced around at the hustle again, and wondered how much it cost someone to get a sandwich and here she was getting real eggs for free…

“Hey! I’ll be in the cafeteria!” Negan shouted as he put the empty mug down on a prep table nearby and pulled his free arm around Jac’s shoulders to lead her away. He could see her taking in everything that was going on, and he could tell something was irking her. Best to distract her. Besides the cooks would start bringing the food out into the cafeteria and they didn’t need to be standing in the doorway.

When they came back into the cafeteria there were some people lined up, already waiting for food, and Jac watched them immediately fall to a knee again.

“As you were,” Negan said absently as he led Jac through the gap the people made for him.

Jac looked up at Negan, her cheek rubbing against the leather of his jacket, and wondered if she should warn him now. She was not going to kneel to him. He must have caught her look, and figured it out because he stopped them just before the first table and leaned down to press his forehead to hers, to whisper, “You better wipe that defiant look right off that pretty face or I will spend the rest of the day leaving you places so I can walk back into rooms all important like – just so I can see you kneel.”

Her look mellowed right out into neutrality and he whistled lowly as he stood up to his full height to look at her. “Not challenging _you_ to a poker game any time soon!”

_Wipe that look off your face_ was the ultimate threat in her household.

She learned real fast how to do it too.

Negan led her the last few steps to the table, and let her sit down before he moved around to sit next to her, placing Lucille down in front of them on the table. “We’ll eat and then I’ll find us somewhere quiet to go over the rules.” He pressed his lips just below her ear, grinning as she twitched, before telling her softly, “For now, if someone asks _who_ you are, you better tell them you’re me real fast.”

Jac leaned away to look at him like he’d lost his mind. She sure felt like he’d lost his mind. They obviously knew she wasn’t him.

“We’re all Negan here Little Girl,” Negan whispered as he pulled her back closer to brush his lips against her cheek this time. She ducked behind her choppy brown hair real fast, real shyly. “Now who are you?”

Jac glance at him. He looked serious. She wanted to know what happened if she didn’t say it, but she didn’t know if she wanted to find out in the middle of all these people. His eyes flashed dangerously down at her, and she tensed as he pressed his lips to her ear repeating himself.

“ _Who are you?_ ”

It felt like her heart was tripping over itself, and like she’d swallowed a desert. He started to pull away from her, but his hand was coming to settle on her arm, and she gasped out, “N-Negan.”

“That’s my good girl,” Negan hummed before he noticed their food and drinks coming towards them via the head cook and the teen who had been helping him. When he looked back at Jac she was looking down at the table with all her focus, her shoulders hunched.

_Damn it._

There wasn’t a way around that though. If anyone asked she had to answer right or things would go south fast. He combed his fingers through her hair before the food was set in front of them. She glanced at the men before mumbling out softly, “Thank you.”

The cook’s eyes grew like saucers. “Oh, ah, you’re welcome dear!” He insisted with a proud grin.

A small smile touched her lips, and Negan pet her hair again before he let her go and started to dig in. Jac watched him for a moment before she started to eat too. The smallest little _mmmm_ escaped her, and Negan couldn’t help but chuckle. She certainly didn’t know how indecent that little noise sounded.

Jac was actually offended when he laughed at her. “It’s good!” She complained at him. How dare he laugh about this. This was real food, not canned food that was practically mush. It wasn’t something with a fifty-fifty shot that it would kill you.

Negan laughed a little more before telling her, “Damn if that’s what you sound like when you like your food then I wanna know what you sound like when someone finds your sweet spot.” Then she went and turned downright pink. Fuck if that wasn’t endearing.

“Oh my god she’s adorable!” Viviane insisted, announcing the arrival of what Negan found to be at least half his wives. All clad in little black dresses. Lily among them. The mocha skinned woman who had talked sat across from them, while the other wives hovered a bit.

“Negan says she’s not a wife,” Lily insisted, pouting.

“She’s going to be my assistant, get me coffee, take notes, take care of odds and ends I don’t feel like fucking with.” Negan explained looking pointedly at Lily. She was getting a futon but if she was going to cause trouble he’d snatch it back so fast her head would spin.

Frankie watched as the girl looked them all over, shrinking in on herself more by the second. She was so little. She seemed even smaller with that split lip. “She’s so young.” She couldn’t help but wonder who gave her that busted lip. He might not hit his wives, but sometimes women were just people when they started fucking up around here.

Negan raised a brow. What he did with Jac was his business but he still scoffed, “Fuck, Frankie, I’m feeding her breakfast, I’m not sticking my hand down her pants in the middle of the cafeteria.” Wrongly guessing the reason for Frankie’s disapproval.

Frankie wasn’t less horrified by that statement.

Jac was slightly concerned when the red head looked at Negan like that was a possibility. It didn’t help when one of them, Lily, insisted, “I’m sure she wouldn’t mind, she’s not so young. I bet she’s done it before.”

She would mind! She had not!

When Negan found Jac starring at him in bewilderment he put his hands up laughing, “I am not going to stick my fucking hand down your pants while you’re trying to eat your eggs.”

“Oh my fucking lord, she’s a virgin!” Frankie insisted, her voice down but the heat there none the less. She’d seen the fright cross over Jac’s face, even if just for a moment. Negan might preach about no rape around here but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t try every dirty trick in the book to get her to agree to give it up to him.

Negan wouldn’t be surprised if Jac had never even seen a man naked, he had no doubt she was a virgin. Jac just became very interested in eating at that point. She wouldn’t even glance at them.

“Oh darling,” Viviane said standing up and patting her hand, “don’t you be ashamed of something so sweet as that.” She’d also caught the look Negan gave the other two, and decided it was time to go. “Let’s go get breakfast to take back up to the room and share with the others.” She said as she waved the other girls after her. They followed more or less willingly.

Once they were gone Jac took a drink of the milk she’d been given, and glanced over at Negan. He was glaring after the women before he looked back at her. She opened her mouth trying to think of what to say, only to look down at the table again.

“I’ve already figured out that you’ve never done it,” Negan shrugged before he went back to eating.

Jac didn’t know what to say to that, so she just returned to eating with him. What was there to say about it now anyway? She supposed it didn’t matter to him. He laid down the law saying she was his. He did say they’d take it slow…

Negan might have shrugged it off, but he wanted her firsts. Any he could claim. When he finished she still had a bit more food on her plate, and he pushed some hair behind her ear. Only he noticed her flinch. She looked at him before going back to the rest of her food. She looked apologetic, and so he let his hand trace along her shoulders to drape his arm around her. She’d get use to him. She already was. As long as she saw him coming she was okay.

Relaxing under his arm Jac wasn’t sure about all of this. He wasn’t hurting her, but he was touching her so much, and it made her wonder why… Maybe when they talked about the rules around here she could ask her own questions…

oOo

“Don’t worry about the points right away, when I’m around it won’t fucking matter and when I’m not you’ll have the points stocked up from being my assistant.” Negan said as he moved around his office looking for this and that. “You tell me if you need anything, and I’ll get it for you.”

Jac was following the rules easily enough. If he walked into a room after her she was expected to kneel just like everyone else. Someone asks _who_ she and is she had to answer Negan. He was going to teach her how to go over the inventory, and if things didn’t add up she had to tell him because that meant someone was stealing, or slacking, and both were crimes around here. She nodded along to this one too. Her eyes lingered on Lucille on his desk when he told her that but then she went back to watching him. Only, something hit her, and she asked, “D-don’t I have t-to earn sstuff?”

“You will,” Negan shrugged as he finally found a blank little pocket-sized notebook, and walked over dropping it in her lap. “I’ll give you this for now, when Simon and them come back they’ll hopefully fucking have some full-sized ones.” Then he gave her a pen from a drawer in his desk. “Here this should still work.”

“What am I su-supposed t-to write?” Jac asked with a tilt of her head.

“Anything I damn well tell you,” Negan offered with a shrug, “and anything that’s said that you think is important.”

Jac frowned at the things in her hands before frowning up at him. “It’s busy work… s-s-so you c-an watch me.” It was an accusation plain as day.

Negan grinned wryly as he linked his fingers together and rested his chin on them. “If it makes you feel better the inventory isn’t just busy work, I really do fucking hate it, and I’m pawning it off on you Little Girl.”

“It does… a little,” Jac huffed as she opened the notebook, and in leu of a date simply put _Day 1._ Frowning she remembered what she wanted to ask down at breakfast. Looking up at him Jac took a deep breath before saying, “I have a… few questions.”

“Well excuse the shit outta me! Go right ahead,” Negan said, sitting back opening his arms out benevolently.

Jac went to bite her lip, but stopped when a sharp pain reminded her it was busted. “Why… were you touching me s-so much?”

“I like touching you,” Negan offered simply if she wasn’t so far away he’d touch her just to make the point.

Jac felt really childish, but she still pressed further, “Why?”

“Because you’re mine,” Negan grinned toothily at her. He liked to touch her because she was little, and soft, and oh so fucking pretty. He just couldn’t keep his hands to himself. Not to mention because of her he hadn’t had any time to fuck _any_ of his wives. That little noise she made at breakfast nearly had him up and ready. Not that he shared any of this with her.

Jac glanced down at her lap before looking back up at him more determinedly. “What if…” Only it died on her lips. Did she want to leave? It wasn’t that she wanted to leave… Negan leaned forward, his eyebrows dipping down. “I… I d-don’t want to… but w-what if… what if I wanted to leave?” She spit out the last part fast before she couldn’t manage it anymore. What if she had to?

Negan didn’t know what emotion should take president here. She didn’t want to leave, but she wanted to know what if… Negan frowned. “We’d talk about it,” Negan tried to evade the question.

Jac narrowed her eyes at him, “Would th-that talk be you s-saying no?”

“Fuck you already know me so well,” Negan couldn’t help but laugh even though she clearly didn’t think this was a laughing matter.

“What if… What if I wasn’t safe here?” Jac asked pressing back into the chair so she didn’t jump up. Doing that always escalated things.

“I will make it fucking safe!” Negan insisted as he stood up, his hands coming down on his desk. “Why don’t you think it’s fucking safe here?” He hadn’t let her out of his sight. There was no way anyone said anything to her. No way he missed someone doing something to her. He’d had her the whole time. She was safe.

Jac froze. She didn’t know how to answer him. Only, worse. Someone knocked on the door.

Negan glared at her as he got up, snatching up Lucille. He pointed his vampire bat at her insisting, “We are not done with this conversation Little Girl.” Then he swung open his office door to find Timmy standing there. “What?” he prompted.

“Simon radioed back, said there was a large group of people in the town,” Timmy said with a proud grin. “They’ve heard about us, and they want to join up!”

Negan looked back at Jac for a moment before he let out a deep laugh insisting to Timmy, “You tell Simon to bring those people back. Tell him that me and Lucille are fucking dying to meet them!”


	6. I Warned You

Jac fidgeted as she watched Negan wrap a red scarf around his neck, and zip up his leather jacket. He’d handed her Lucille when they walked in the room, and she was pretty sure it was the only thing keeping her from running out of the open door behind her. It was something keeping her grounded. Lucille was his and she couldn’t run off with the bat, and somehow putting it... her down seemed just as rude. She _knew_ what was going to happen though. She could see it in how Negan moved. Even just in the way that he pulled the glove out of his pocket and put it on.

Before, while he tried to keep her distracted in his office he was keeping her grounded.

_So what are the rules?_

_Come and look at how fucking tedious this paperwork is!_

_Here’s the last updates of the points, you always gotta check them against the one before it. In case there’s a large jump in either direction._

Now he walked back over to her and took Lucille as he kissed her on the forehead. Negan pushed his fingers into her hair when she didn’t move. Her face was blank as she looked up at him. “Simon and the group he took scavenging are going to bring the people back, but they’re not going to say anything. The group will go through intake, have the rules laid out, and you’re going to tell me who your father is so I can deal with him.” He figured out real fast why Jac didn’t think she was safe. They were coming here. He knew there was more too it, but she wouldn’t tell him, and once the man was fed to Lucille it wouldn’t matter anyway.

Jac’s eyes widened.

What was she supposed to say?

Should she?

Would he just find out anyway?

What if she didn’t?

Her dad had hurt her since she was small…

He was still her dad.

Maybe how he treated her really had been her fault…

What if he talked to Negan?

What if it changed Negan’s mind about her job?

Would it change his mind about not doing stuff to her?

What if…

If she told would he listen to anything her dad had to say?

If she didn’t would he be angry enough when he figured it out that he wouldn’t care if he had anything to say?

It would be wrong… wouldn’t it? Like telling him she thought it was okay…

He’d told her she was out of chances and the way he was looking at her suggested he was going to stick to it this time. She couldn’t do it though. She couldn’t agree, and she wouldn’t lie to him, that seemed like it’d make it worse. Jac tried to say something, but it felt like all the air was being sucked out of the room. What was he gonna do to her?

Negan felt anger bubble under his skin, but the fear flickering over her features squashed it. He could see she didn’t know what was going to happen to her. He could tell she was imagining the wrathful beatings that left her bruised and bloody. He’d meant it when he told her he’d take her over his knee, but it’d be just that. Maybe it was best that he do it now when he was irked with her, but not full on furious with her. He’d be able to control himself. Especially when she’d have no safe word to stop him this time. Negan knew in all reality she needed one more than anyone he’d ever even just patted on the shoulder, but he’d be careful with her. Give her some love when he was done.

His hand moved from the back of her head to the back of her neck as he growled, “I warned you.” Really it was a growl of anticipation, and her eyes were glued to the toothy grin he was giving her. He could feel her pulse jackrabbiting under his fingers and he was positive this would be good for her. Show her he wasn’t going to abuse her. Abuse and discipline were different and she’d see that. She’d be sorry, embarrassed, and ashamed of herself, not afraid that this was the time she was going to die.

Jac panicked and she tried to run, even if that always only made it worse. Negan snatched her back against him though, before she could even get through the threshold. He kicked the door shut around her, snagged her knife (holster and all) throwing it on his desk, and she knew she wouldn’t get away from him. Still she tried to pull away from him even if it hurt her bruised side to do so. She whimpered and made woeful distressed noises she could never believe came out of her. Surely there was a frightened animal in the room, but it was always just her. Just like it was now. Jac always tried to stay silent, but sometimes she couldn’t stick to it. She was too scared now.

Negan almost stopped, but she’d never learn if he didn’t just do it. Not even learn that she needed to listen to him, though he’d appreciate it if she learned that too, but that she’d be okay. He’d punish her, she’d fucking apologize (if she was able to talk), and they’d work it out.

Jac’s lips moved, pleading with him to let her go, but no noise would come from her throat except sobs and whimpers. She resisted moving with him the whole way to the armchair. When he sat, propping Lucille against the side of the chair, she tried to throw all her weight into pulling away, but he still got her across his lap. Her ass was higher than her head, and she gripped the grey denim of his pants tightly.

Negan huffed, _like he’d ever let her fall_. He didn’t comment on the death grip though, he braced one arm across her back to keep her wiggling from landing herself on the floor. Then, he didn’t give her any time to think about it and swiftly brought his hand down on her ass. Using enough force to make sure she felt it.

A yelp tore from her throat as he swatted her again. It stung even through her shorts, but she was more embarrassed than anything.

He’d told her.

Why hadn’t she listened?

“You will tell me who he is!” Negan snapped at her, his hand coming down on her backside every couple of words. She wouldn’t cry out after that initial two smacks, but he could hear her breath hitch each time. He watched her thighs squeeze together and he rolled his tongue between his teeth in delight. She must have been feeling something. Today he wouldn’t really hurt more than her pride anyway. Then, he shoved her shorts down off her hips, because he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see her ass pink with his handprints and spanked her again.

Jac cried out as his bare hand connected with her skin. It hurt more, even if given everything she wouldn’t really classify this as _hurt_ , but that wasn’t why she whimpered. It just kept sending conflicting messages throughout her body. His hand and his deep dark voice were all she could concentrate on now. She couldn’t focus on anything else.

It killed him to deny Lucille a good meal, but he’d have to compromise with her on this one. It was her father, even if he didn’t deserve the title.

“I won’t kill him, but I will fucking put the fear of _Lucille_ in him,” Negan explained watching her squirm, taking a second to check the healing cut on her hip, not spanking her until he cursed.

Jac gripped his pant leg harder as he landed three more smacks in a row. They stung more than the others, and the burn didn’t fade right away, like with the first ones. Worse, as she squirmed she could feel the slickness at the apex of her thighs.

Negan let himself rub her pink cheeks as he looked to make sure she was still with him. She looked over her shoulder at him and he let a devilish smirk turn his lips up as he spanked her again before she could look away. Her head snapped away from him, but then he gently rubbed her ass again as he said, “But if he ever fucking touches you again I will kill him. _No exceptions._ ”

Jac hoped he was done, she needed him to let her down. If he couldn’t see how this affected her from this angle he’d certainly feel it if his hand traveled any lower. Him touching her like this wasn’t helping either. It was soothing, she was still nervous, and she was embarrassed that being spanked made her wet. She couldn’t believe that any of this turned her on. She didn’t know what to think of herself.

She didn’t know what he would think of her…

Negan could see how wet she was, and he let his fingers dip between her thighs to feel it. She keened against his leg and he let out a pleased hum before he asked, “Do you understand me Jac?” He paused before telling her, “You fucking better put a Sir in there while you’re at it, and it better not sound smart.”

“Y-yes… Sir…” Jac gasped against Negan’s leg as his fingers traced her folds. Her whole face felt as warm as her ass did, and she knew she was blushing. Jac squirmed a little against his lap, not daring to ask if she could get down.

Negan waited a moment longer as she fidgeted against him, but when she didn’t try to escape or plead with him, he popped his fingers in his mouth to clean them off and taste her. Holding back a groan he let her up off his lap, hopefully before she realized he was half hard already. This wasn’t going to help him keep things slow. Still, he helped right her shorts as he looked up at her. He waited for her to look at him before he grinned saying, “There’s my Sweet Girl.” When her expression turned so endearingly confused he chuckled and said, “Just because I took you over my knee doesn’t mean you’re not still mine.”

Jac frowned. “I… i-i-it’s ju-st…” She stopped not knowing how to say anything she wanted to.

“It’s just that you got turned on when I was spanking you,” Negan grinned. When she nodded, and looked away from him he reached up to grab her chin to get her eyes back on him as he asked her, “It was fucking hot, wasn’t it?” She wouldn’t answer though, she just watched him warily. Sighing he pulled her down onto his lap, even though after this he was going to have to go jack off in the bathroom like a teenager.

Jac drew in a sharp breath when sitting was uncomfortable. She wasn’t expecting that, but it just made Negan grin wider down at her. He put his lips against her temple for a moment before he rested his cheek on the top of her head. She captured his hand when it played along her thigh, holding him tightly.

“You’re okay Sweet Girl. I punished you, and now it’s fucking over,” Negan moved to huff against her cheek, watching her hold his hand once more. “I know you have to feel me,” he bucked his hips under her to prove his point, and it earned him a soft panting noise and her hips jerking down against him, he assumed in an effort to still him, “spanking you was hot as hell, and if I hadn’t decided to take it slow with you then you’d be sitting on my lap in a very different fucking way.” He didn’t think she’d be able to handle that though. It might feel good in the moment, she might not tell him no, but he’d find her crying in a corner over it sooner or later he was positive.

“B-but…” Jac stammered. He’d been punishing her!

“Uh-huh,” Negan hummed as he slipped his hand from her and crooked a finger under her chin to get her to look at him, “If I’m allowed to like doing it to you, and I most certain-fucking-ly am, then you’re allowed to like it too.”

Jac squirmed, only that made the part of him she was sitting on even more noticeable. “Th-that …wasn’t slow…” Jac said trying to keep her voice under control. This moment right now wasn’t slow. It felt like she had mental whiplash.

Negan relented, putting his hands on the armrests so she could get up if she wanted to, and nodded his agreement. “You’re right, that wasn’t slow, but now you know you’re going to be okay, even when I’m angry at ya. You were looking at me like I was going to fucking break your bones, but you’re in one piece aren’t ya?” She nodded as she looked up at him rather ashamed.

“Sorry…” Jac breathed. He’d told her what would happen, she was the one that didn’t believe him.

“Don’t be,” Negan growled as he gripped the arms of the chair tighter so he didn’t touch her. Then he decided it was time to ask her if she knew about safe words, but before he could there was knocking on the door. “Fuck,” Negan scowled as he helped Jac up and grabbed Lucille. He opened the door to Simon who looked very serious.

“The leader of the group we took in, and the second are in your office. I have Timmy watching them. You have the seconds daughter…” Simon said jerking his thumb across the hall to Negan’s office.

Negan grinned wider than a Cheshire Cat as Jac moved up next to him. She didn’t even have to tell him, though now he regretted telling her he wouldn’t kill the man. He was just offering himself up. “What do they know about how we came across her?” Negan asked pulling an arm around her.

“I told ‘em that some of our men found her in the town, and they brought her back. Nothing about her being yours,” Simon said with a shrug, only to sneer a bit. “Fat Joey heard some of the women talking…” He paused looking down at Jac, “How’re you even alive?”

Jac forced a breath out her nose before muttering, “He… wanted me that way…”

Simon sucked in a breath before eying Negan, “Easy Street is too good for him boss, fuck the iron is too good for him.”

Negan scowled, “Promised him one chance.” Then he looked down at Jac who looked once more lost and confused, “See you’re growing on Simon, he had these fan-fucking-tastical ideas where you were some kind of assassin out to get me. I told him you were the wrong kind of little for that kind of thing.”

Jac looked at Simon trying to imagine where he got such an idea about her. She was getting nothing, and the tall man was looking rather ashamed of himself. “Sorry Babydoll, you were a little too good to be true.”

Jac tried to work her mouth, but Negan grinned insisting for her, “Yer forgiven! Now, let’s get this show on the road. Get your knife Little Girl.”

She did as she was told before following Negan across the hall. Simon made sure that Negan’s door was shut for them. Negan opened the door to his office with great flourish, Lucille up on his shoulder for all to see. “Hi, I’m Negan!”

Jac wasn’t sure what to do as Simon walked into the office behind her and shut the door. The tall man moved over to stand next to the door, there was the man from earlier standing on the other side of the door already, and Negan walked around to his desk. He set Lucille down on the desktop as he stood there looking at the men in the small leather armchairs in his office. His eyes found Jac and he waved her forward. She skirted around the chairs, careful to keep out of arms reach of either man, and moved to stand at the corner of Negan’s desk as he sat down.

Negan watched as the man with a long, scruffy, brown beard looked at Jac before saying, “I’m Eli and this is Bishop, Jac is his daughter.”

“Is she now?” Negan hummed as he looked up at Jac, who had her eyes firmly on his desk, instead of the men in front of them.

Jac couldn’t look at them. She clasped her hands behind her back so no one would see that they were shaking. She already knew she was in trouble. Eli might not have ever actively hurt her, but he’d never stopped her dad either. He was the kind of man to sit there and just watch. Most others would at least look away, or leave altogether. Not him. Her father on the other hand must have been pissed. She knew they had something planned for her, it wasn’t until Hunter found her that she knew what…

“I’m sorry if she’s caused you any trouble,” Bishop insisted as he eyed Jac standing there with her head down, her hands hiding behind her back now. “She knew she was supposed to stay with the group. She didn’t know, we didn’t want to worry the group, but she was supposed to be a peace offering. A gift for you. To show we wanted to make this work.”

Jac stiffened beside him, and Negan eyed her. He wondered if that’s why the guy wasn’t supposed to rape her, and decided that’s what she’d been told right before he got there. He let a frown touch his lips before he reached out and pulled her closer to him, “That’s great, I do have a question about my gift though," He lifted her shirt to show the bruises still there, though maybe they weren’t quite as livid anymore, he made sure the men had all looked before he asked, "who went and fucking marked her up? She’s so quiet, and she wouldn’t say.”

Jac could see that Timmy seemed unfazed while Simon looked just as displeased as Negan did.

Both of the men in chairs froze.

Then Bishop spoke up rotating his broad shoulders a bit saying, “Just like the Sanctuary we have rules, and Jac might be quiet now, but really she's a bit of a trouble maker. I was trying to break her of it.”

Negan let go of Jac’s shirt, and patted her hip before he glanced at them out the corner of his eye. When both men tensed he looked at them fully, growling out his question, “What rules was she breaking? Breathing? Stuttering? Oh! I did notice the fucking nightmares she has, where she whimpers like a kicked pup. Perhaps she’s too damn loud for someone who barely talks.” It didn’t help his mood that her father was just as big as him, if not broader. Simon’s question still stood, and Negan wondered how the man never accidently killed her. He didn’t look like a man with much restraint. He wasn't sure but he was almost positive that he would have preferred to hear the man lie. Instead Bishop must have thought he would think what he did was acceptable.

Eli pulled nervously at his beard as he eyed the barbwire wrapped bat on the desk. He had an idea of what it was for, and they’d had to turn in all their weapons. “Look, Negan, I’ll admit, I looked away too much, but Jac was his. It’s honestly why I suggested we give her to you. You handle this whole place, you could handle Jac. Bishop won’t have any claim to her, he’ll have to leave her alone.”

Jac wanted to call him a liar, that he never once looked away, but one look at Negan suggested he was just looking for an excuse to slaughter both the men in front of him.

Negan regarded Eli a bit before he walked around the desk, picking up his bat. “I’m going to swing back around to that, but first I want you both to meet Lucille.” He grinned a bit at his pun, as well as with pride for his main girl. “ _She is awesome_.” He moved so he was right in front of Bishop insisting, “I promised your daughter I wouldn’t kill you yet, but if you ever touch her again I promise that you will become way more intimately acquainted with Lucille.” The look he got was not one of understanding and Negan swung Lucille back up onto his shoulder, coming very close to the man’s face. “Oh, and if you don’t think I’ll know if you somehow manage to catch her alone, I want you to know that I am _everywhere._ ”

He pointed Lucille at Simon and asked, “Who are you?”

“Negan.” Simon answered with a grin when both men looked at him.

“Who are _you_?” he asked shifting so Lucille pointed at Timmy.

“Negan,” Timmy answered proudly.

He popped Lucille back up onto his shoulder and turned a bit to look at Jac as he asked, “What about you Darlin’? _Who are you?_ ”

“Negan…” Jac breathed looking up at him.

“See, such a good girl,” Negan crowed proudly before he looked down at Bishop. “ _I_ will know if you even look at her wrong. You understand me?!”

“I understand you,” Bishop said keeping his voice level, keeping his eyes off of Jac.

“And you better keep him in line,” Negan told Eli as he focused on the man, “Shit, his life is directly linked to the integrity of your face. If I have to kill ‘em because he hurts Jack and I figure out you knew, that you even had the slightest feeling he was looking at her too long, it’s the iron for you. I will fucking melt off half your face so not only is there a dead man, but there’s also a living breathing reminder of what happens when people touch my things.”

“I understand,” Eli said his back straightening, his heated gaze falling on Bishop. He had not anticipated being blamed for the other man's behavior.

“ _Good!_ Then we’re all fucking square here! I do believe Jac is just the best damn present anyone has  _ever_ gotten me in a long fucking time!” Negan said as he sat on the edge of his desk. “Everyone is just racing to give her to me too. My men gave her to me yesterday before they knew she wasn’t theirs to give! Now here you are giving her to me again. Beautiful.”

The men before him seemed speechless so Negan stood up and walked back around the desk, his arm falling around Jac as he said, “You’re fucking excused.”


	7. Red Means Stop, Doll

Negan grinned as the men started filing out of his office, and pulled Jack down into his office chair on top of him. Jac squirmed as her father and Simon looked back at them. Her father looked confused for the first time in her life that she had seen, while Simon was grinning and shaking his head. Jac had to wonder what he was like now that he didn’t think she was dangerous…

Jac watched them leave, Simon shutting the door, before she looked up at Negan, wondering what they were going to do now, but he went and asked, “You know what a safe word is?”

Jac frowned as he looked seriously down at her. She wasn’t sure where that came from. Actually, she did know what a safe word was. It was embarrassing to admit that she did know, if only because that would mean potentially admitting to reading smutty fanfiction back before the end, but she nodded anyway, and offered, “R-red means… stop.”

“Oh, someone was reading something naughty!” Negan teased, only to immediately stop when she seemed to curl in on herself. Not the part of the relationship where he could tease her. Noted. “Never mind that, at least your example wasn’t pineapple, do you know what they’re for?”

“You ssay it in-instead of n-no or stop…” Jac stammered. She’d never really gotten why you didn’t just say no or stop. Those seemed like they should be jarring enough. Why wouldn’t you stop?

“Do you know why?” Negan pried to see if she knew the answer to this one. Only she shook her head. He pushed his fingers into her hair looking her over. “When things get really intense you might be tempted to tell me no, or stop, or even shake your head at me, but you might not really mean it. When people are rough with each other sometimes stop means _more_ and no means _harder._ We both need a way to know we really mean it. If I say the safe word you better stop moving, and whining just as fast as I would.” He wouldn’t lose his control on her and start really hurting her.

Jac didn’t know what to say or do. Was he going to be rough with her? Like when he was spanking her, or did he mean something different? Jac squirmed, not sure what to say.

Negan used his other hand to brush his thumb along her jaw. “Or, just like this. You’re so quiet, I can use it to check on you when I think you’re not into it anymore. If I ask what your color is you can tell me red for stop, yellow for slow down or you don’t know, or green for _keep fucking doing that to me._ ”

Jac was trying to find her words when Negan pulled her closer to kiss her jaw. Her eyes widened as she looked at him, before she asked, “I can ssay r-r-red any t-time and… you’ll stop?

“Even if I’m just touching you Sweet Girl. You need me to stop and fucking I will,” Negan explained as he pulled her closer again to kiss her cheek. She kept trying to look to see what he was doing. He knew her wounds ran deep. She obviously wasn’t even sure about him touching her when she was already sitting in his lap.

“Wh-what if you…are punishing… me?” Jac asked as his hand tangled into the hair at the back of her head, and he moved her to kiss her forehead. She couldn’t help but wonder if this was weird. She didn’t get why he was kissing her.

Negan pulled back to look at her, his hand in her hair angling her head so she was looking him in the eye as he told her, low and serious, “We’ll stop until you can handle it again, and then we’ll finish. You can’t just safe word yourself out of trouble. You get me Jac?”

“Y-yes Sir,” Jac insisted nodding quickly. She didn’t want to analyze how quickly that Sir came out too. In any case she figured it wouldn’t be that easy. More than that he pulled out her name. She was quickly learning that she wanted him to call her anything but her name. Him calling her Jac, or Jacqueline meant she was skirting lines she shouldn’t be skirting.

He gently pulled his hand from her hair, and watched her watch him for a moment. Her eyes kept linger at his lips, and he decided to test her limits some. “You wanna try something Sugar?”

Jac looked up from his lips at the new nickname, before catching on to his question, “Like… what?”

“You seem awfully damn interested in my lips, how about some kissing,” Negan said before he asked, “You ever been kissed?”

“N-not like that…” Jac said as her eyes fell back down to his grinning lips. His salt and pepper beard was always softly scratching her when he kissed her everywhere else. She wondered what it’d be like if they kissed…

“You want to?” Negan asked once more. She hadn’t this morning, so he couldn’t take the liberty to do so now. Maybe after this he’d be able to kiss her when he wanted.

Jac couldn’t think of a reason not to right now. They all lingered in the back of her mind, out of reach. She nodded, and when he raised an eyebrow at her, she mumbled, “Please… yes please.”

“How could I say no?” Negan grinned as he held her face in his hands. Already so submissive.

Jac felt woefully unprepared for something she’d seen happen plenty, and read about too. He didn’t give her much time to think about it though. He angled her head and pressed his lips to hers. It wasn’t quite ground breaking. She pulled back a little and Negan grinned at the look on her face. She knew her nose was scrunched in confusion. She didn’t get this.

“Little more?” Negan asked when she seemed disappointed. She nodded and he leaned in again, this time kissing her, and then licking her bottom lip. She gasped against his mouth and he chuckled before sliding one of his hands into her hair. “There’s my girl,” he mumbled against the side of her mouth.

This time Jac sought out his lips, that time felt more. His beard did scratch, but she wanted to feel more of this. She decided she liked this, but more because of how close it put them. This time the hand still on her cheek gripped her jaw getting her to open her mouth with little coaxing.

His tongue swept through her mouth, eagerly tasting her. When his tongue pushed against hers she timidly mimicked his actions. She squirmed in his lap as he pulled back just enough to give her some air. Only she used this air to tempt him further.

Not that he really needed help.

“M-more?” She stammered looking at him.

Negan groaned as she pulled at his scarf a bit, trying to pull him back to her, “Fuck, alright Sugar, just a little.” He lifted her up, putting her on the edge of the desk, knowing if he wasn’t careful he was going to fuck her on this desk. He pressed his way to stand between her legs, getting her to look up at him. With the higher vantage point he pulled her into a rough, wet kiss he was better able to control. He’d teach her more later, right now he just wanted to own his little gift.

Jac felt like he was trying to devour her. He bit gently at her lower lip, just enough to barely tease the cut there without making her bleed again. It made her grip at his arms as he held her in place. When his tongue found its way into her mouth again Jac couldn’t help but squirm, her thighs squeezing his hips. The hand in her hair let go, and slammed down on the table next to her. That only served to make her push closer to him. Involuntarily flinching away from the noise.

Negan pulled away, but when she followed after him he growled and crashed his lips back against hers. The hand on her cheek moved down to her neck. He just rested his hand there, a firm claim on her. He ached to leave marks on her, but he knew he couldn’t, not just yet. When her legs curled around him, and they jerked against each other Negan pulled away and grit his teeth. “Damn it, enough Jac,” Negan forced out. When she looked up at him like he’d kicked her puppy he asked, “You want to do more than kiss?”

Jac froze at his question. This felt really good, and she liked being up against him, and the way he touched her, but she didn’t know that she could do more than this. Negan brushed his thumb against her lower lip, and she shook her head just bit.

“Then we gotta stop,” Negan insisted. He knew his limits and they were quickly coming up on the part where he would start tugging at her clothes to taste more of her.

Jac nodded in agreement, but she felt wound up. She didn’t know what to do, and Negan was staring hard at her.

Negan couldn’t do this right now. “I’m gonna call Simon back up here, and he’s going to show you around, and get you lunch,” Negan said as he pulled open a drawer and snatched up his walkie talkie. Jac hung her head a bit, and Negan laced his fingers back into her hair, pulling her forehead against his chest as he spoke into the radio, “Simon get your ass back up to my office I need you to do some shit for me.” He’d explain more when he wasn’t broadcasting to every radio carrying Savior. Putting it down on the desk he pushed his other hand into her hair as Jac leaned into him.

Logically she knew she hadn’t done anything wrong. Negan wanted to do more than she wanted to do and he needed some space. Only she still couldn’t bring herself to say anything. What if she just kept going? Would it really make a difference if they did more now rather than later? He held onto her though not asking for her to say anything, and Jac guessed she answered her own question. He slid her off his desk to stand in front of him and Jac pressed closer to him. She’d never really been this close to someone when it wasn’t necessary, unless they were hurting her. One hand stayed in her hair, the other pressed against the small of her back.

“You stay with Simon when he shows you around. You fucking shadow him, and you do what he tells you,” Negan explained as he looked down at the top of her head. “If you can’t see him, you’re too far.”

“I understand…” Jac mumbled against his chest.

“Good,” Negan huffed pulling her back to kiss her forehead.

It didn’t take much longer for Simon to come knocking on the door. Negan pulled away from her and walked over to the door letting his second in. He shut the door before laying down the law. “You’re going to show Jac around the Sanctuary, get her some lunch, and then show her around some more. Bring her back up to my room when you’re done if I don’t come looking for ya.”

“Yeah, I’ll show the little one around,” Simon grinned as he watched her come up beside Negan. “Won’t let her out of my sight.”

“That is what I fucking wanna hear!” Negan grinned wide. Then he pulled Jac under his arm as he explained to Simon, “Look now, Jac stutters, and while I think it’s fucking endearing it most certainly does not have the air of badassery that made you think she was going to kill me. Don’t make her talk a whole lot around anyone. As long as all you expect are short answers, or you just talk to her not expecting anything in return she’ll be fine.”

Jac frowned a bit as she looked up at Negan.

When he caught her Negan waved his hand a bit at Simon insisting, “Come on Sweet Girl, Simon won’t tell anyone.”

Simon grinned at her insisting, “Come on I’ll take care of ya.”

Negan let go of her and smacked her butt to get her going with Simon. She jolted, and glared at him as Simon opened the door. When he went for her again she darted out the door pointedly waiting for Simon to show her the way. “Shit, you keep giving me that fucking mouthy look and I’ll take you right back over my knee Sugar,” Negan laughed.

“Th-that’s not funny,” Jac scolded him, her look mellowing right out.

“Ooo wow Babydoll do you know how to play poker?” Simon asked as he started to lead her down the hallway.

“Yeah?” Jac answered though it was more of a question. She wondered if gambling was prevalent around here.

“Don’t you fucking use her to win at poker!” Negan called after them as he snagged his radio and stepped out into the hallway. He saw Simon’s hand raise in the air to show him he heard. “Don’t you find that group that plays liars dice either, damn it!”

He watched them round the corner before he headed towards the wives’ room.

oOo

Simon watched as Jac moved between the rows of vegetables and the few strawberry and raspberry plants they managed to keep going this year. He needed to check on people around the Sanctuary still, and Jac didn’t seem too particularly concerned with which parts she saw. She seemed to like it outside in any case, he even watched her just stand there for a minute letting the sun shine on her face. After this stop he’d get her food like Negan told him too.

“I think everything will make it this winter,” the savior in charge of the gardens said as he showed Simon the new plants that were thriving. “Those books you guys brought back are really good. We got some of the workers started on making mulch and the like. Freed up some jobs for those new people that came in.”

 

“That’s good,” Simon said as he watched Jac crouch down near one of the plants. He wouldn’t have faulted her for snagging some fruit, Negan wouldn’t begrudge her any, but she didn’t seem interested in the strawberries. “Anything else you think we could start growing ourselves?”

“I wouldn’t start this late in the season, maybe next year we can try some different kinds of lettuce. A lot of what we get from the other communities goes to the animals… If we start growing some there’ll be more for the people…” the savior explained even though he noticed Simon’s attention elsewhere. When he realized what Jac was doing he said, “Oh! she shouldn’t try to pet the cats. They’re feral.”

Jac of course wasn’t listening to them, and she blinked slowly at the black and white cat looking up at her from its place lounging about under the shade of the bushes. She didn’t reach out for it, she knew better. It’d run off on her and she’d never get this close again.

Simon leaned this way and that to see better what Jac was doing, but she seemed content to sit there. “Don't worry about her, is there anything else? I gotta know what kind of seeds to get from the communities, or scavenge for,” Simon asked to get the man back on track.

“Hey kitty-kitty,” Jac hummed at the cat still watching her, one of its eyes closed on her disinterestedly. She hummed happily.

“Just the lettuce, maybe if we built up another row we could try for carrots and potatoes, they would go far in chow,” the savior said trying not to be distracted by the girl. She was Negan’s after all, but she wasn’t wearing the black dress of a wife. Rumor was she was going to be his secretary… or assistant of some kind. When all he got was some vague agreement to get some, he changed the subject, following after Simon as he walked further down the line to be closer to Jac, “The cats have been taking care of the mice and rats we were finding. When winter rolls around we’re going to start putting out the cat food you guys brought back. The kibble…”

 

“Yeah, yeah, we brought in a whole pallet from a pet store, I don’t care when you start using it,” Simon huffed, he didn’t really care what it was used for. When they’d been told to catch any stray cats they came across Simon had been ready to call bullshit on Negan, but this had really worked. Sure, often times the cats got inside and someone had the misfortune of stepping in cat shit or the odd hairball, but how would they get the mice inside if they didn’t get in there. Most of them turned out to be lazy bastards like the one Jac was eyeballing.

“I got someone keeping an eye on them, and the number and size of them. They’re all still accounted for at least since the last time, and none of them seem to be getting thinner, so there’s that. Apparently, there’s a lady cat around here who might be having kittens…” the savior droned on.

Jac tuned the man out now that they were close enough to hear. “Yeah, I bet the lady c-cat is your lady friend huh?” Jac murmured quietly to the cat.

“Don’t you have work to be doing?” Simon asked intending to scare the man off. “I don’t give a shit about the feral cats.” It did its job and the man quickly excused himself.

Jac noticed the cat perk up at Simon’s voice, and afraid it’d scamper off Jac kept whispering to it, a giggle bubbling up, “Yeah I bet you’re the Negan of cats. All the l-lady friends and y-ou whap any males not pulling their weight.”

Simon snorted he was so quick to laugh.

Jac grinned as she slowly reached the back of her hand out. Negan-Cat sniffed her before standing up and rubbing against her hand. “He… he’s not feral, I bet he was a house pet. Maybe the k-kind that went outside every day to cause t-trouble.” Jac carefully slid her hand around to scratch behind the cat’s ear, and then pet down his spine. “He probably wouldn’t l-let me pet him if he was feral…”

 Simon watched in mild fascination as Jac pet the cat. Noted her stuttering, and decided Negan was right about this too, her stuttering was endearing as fuck. Only he tensed when the cat twisted around and grabbed her hand with one of it’s clawed paws to nip at her fingers.

Jac huffed good naturedly, “Let go Negan-Cat”, and carefully extracted her hand before standing up. “I’m fine,” Jac offered when Simon eyed the cat like it was a demon. She let it brush against her legs, before watching it wander off away from her.

Once it was gone Simon couldn’t help but grin as he teased, “I’m tellin’ Negan you named a cat after him!”

Jac shrugged with a bit of a grin. She figured Negan would laugh about it, especially since Simon was.

“Come on, I better feed ya before I get on with the rest of my duties,” Simon insisted as he waved his arm for her to come with him.

“I th-thought you were s-supposed to be showing me around,” Jac tried to tease back. It seemed to work.

“Yeah, well after lunch you’re gonna see the damn laundry rooms because they’ve been bitching up a storm lately,” Simon laughed.

oOo

Negan let out a frustrated groan, even as Lily coughed primly as she stood up from her knees. He pulled his pants up to their proper spot, leaning back against the wall. He got off and he was still frustrated. He eyed Lily as she started to look peeved with him. “What? You wanna get off?” Negan asked, bringing up a dirty grin, and crooking his fingers to imitate playing with her.

“Nah, I can tell you’re not into it right now,” Lily insisted as she waltzed away from him, when she looked back and saw him glaring at her she smartly waltz right out the doors to the room.

Frankie frowned at Negan from across the room. He’d seemed normal when he first got in here. Flirting with all of them and even fingering Amber until she came apart a withering orgasming mess. Then Lily put him up against the wall to help him out, but Frankie had seen it. He’d looked down at Lily at some point, and she saw the disappointment cross his features. Then he’d been angry and rough until he’d finished. Standing up Frankie walked over and held her hand out for him insisting, “Come on, let me give you a massage. You look tense.”

“Oh doll, how could I be tense?” Negan said as he let Frankie lead him into the room within the room where the bed was. He kicked the door shut behind him, Frankie waiting just long enough for him to do so.

“You looked at Lily like you didn’t know who was sucking your dick, and you were disappointed to find her mouth,” Frankie told him bluntly as she waved to the bed. When he just sat on the edge she toed off her heels and crawled on behind him. “You are never disappointed to find her mouth full. Means she can’t talk back.”

“Right about now I’m thinking about keeping your mouth fucking busy,” Negan grumbled even as Frankie got to work on the knots rattling his lower back.

“Her name, it’s Jac right?” Frankie said, deciding to get right to the point.

“Yeah, what about her?” Negan asked glaring at the door.

“If you want her to be your wife, why not just tell her the perks?” Frankie asked trying to get to the bottom of it.

“You talking about Jac is really not sexy,” Negan insisted as he reached back and snagged Frankie’s hand. Jac was different. She considered a bed, a roof, _one_ square a day, and no one beating her on a regular basis perks. Jac didn’t need the free stuff, and the little thing knew it.

Frankie moved back around, off the bed, and stood in front of him instead. “She’s who you really want.” She was not trying to be sexy.

Negan glared because he couldn’t have Jac right now. “I can still get off if you wanna call me daddy again,” Negan insisted as he stood up and pulled Frankie closer. As long as they got off of the subject of Jac. Maybe, he’d be less tense if she acted like she didn’t know how to fuck him and he told her everything she needed to do again.

“You want her to call you daddy?” Frankie pressed, even though she knew she was reaching dangerous territory.

Actually, Negan was positive that he’d throw up if Jac ever called him daddy. Might as well have made that her safe word, he’d be done right there. He knew what her daddy was, and he was a fucking monster. Worse than him in more ways than one. He eyed Frankie wondering what her angle was. “What do you want?” He asked, his voice dropping as he leaned in closer to her. He was going to be pissed if Frankie wanted something stupid too.

“No, Negan, _what do you want_?” Frankie asked trying to hold her ground. When he wouldn’t answer her, she lifted her chin. “It’s not us, is it?”

Negan scowled. None of them even looked like her. They sure as fuck didn’t act like her. Still what came out was, “I want you, I want all my wives.”

“Oh yeah, I want you to tell me this then,” Frankie said as she shook him off. “You ever call her doll?”

Negan thought about it. The answer was quick, “Once.” When he’d been warning her, telling her everything that would happen. How she was his, and that he’d get it through to her.

“Mmh, I bet you were angry at her,” Frankie said her hands on her hips.

“I sure as shit wasn’t pleased with her,” Negan sneered. She’d been sitting there asking why she couldn’t leave when she knew what was out there waiting for her.

“See. Call all of us _Doll_ , call anyone you flirt with _Doll_. Only call her Doll when she upset you,” Frankie said before she snatched up her shoes and headed for the doors. “You look at all of us and you just see toys Negan, you look at her and you see something real. You just wanted to pretend you could treat her less than human. You see a real little girl to be protected when you look at her, not just something to be fucked.” She opened the door before she looked back over her shoulder at him adding, “What I want is severance pay when you get rid of us all.”

“ _Frankie!_ ” Negan tried to call her back, sensing that he might have lost this battle. Only when she stopped he realized, maybe he should have just let the redhead leave.

“You better lay us off fast, and spoil that little girl Negan. She’s your last chance to have someone love you, _because no one here does_.” Frankie insisted before she slammed the door on him, and hightailed it out of the room leaving the other wives behind looking alarmed and confused.

Negan couldn’t even manage to glare after her. The moment the door shut he rubbed at his jaw tiredly and sat back down on the bed for a minute. Maybe Frankie was right.

Standing back up he walked out into the main room and snatched up his walkie. He didn’t broadcast his intentions. Simon had probably still gone about his duties as second, merely dragging Jac along. Perhaps if he was even pretending, he offhandedly told her where they were. Judging by how long he’d been here, Simon was probably down in the garden, or the laundry, or had heeded his instructions to get her lunch… He’d take over the tour from wherever he found them…

Find a wall to press Jac up against to try kissing her more…


	8. How This Works

Jac frowned as she watched Simon stop to talk to one of the gun toting saviors. It wasn’t so much that she had to wait that had her nervous, she’d had to wait through his other meetings, and everyone more or less left her be. It was fine. The problem was that they were in the lunch room and she could see her father sitting with Eli. They were both watching her intently. She looked to where Simon was, half worried he’d notice them, and half worried he wouldn’t. She knew Negan wasn’t kidding. Her father would die and Eli would walk around with a constant reminder for no one to touch her on his face.

Jac looked around the rest of the room as she bit the inside of her cheek. Simon said he just needed to talk to him about the new group, no doubt about her father, but she wasn’t sure what to do. Maybe if she just stayed here everything would be fine, and Simon would come back and they could have lunch…

Only then a hush fell over the room, and Jac saw everyone taking a knee. People getting up from their seats just to do so. A peek told her even Simon was kneeling. She spun around and knew she needed to kneel like everyone else, and she did. Grudgingly. Jac was still positive this was ridiculous and intended to talk to him about it, even if he wouldn’t change his mind. Especially since Negan took his sweet time walking over to her. He grinned down at her, his fingers finding her hair, before he insisted, “As you were!”

Negan helped her up, and Jac tried not to look at her father. Only that left her looking down at the floor intently. Of course, then Negan’s hand was back in her hair as he said, “Well I can see Simon, so you were following directions, so that can only… mean… that… daddy dearest… is, ah, right there.” Jac peeked up at him to see he was indeed looking at her father. Only then he looked down at her with a devilish grin as he warned her, “I’m gonna kiss ya now.”

To her credit she didn’t try to jerk away from him. If anything, she looked equal parts embarrassed and eager before his lips came down on hers. Her hands gripped his arm as she pushed up a little on the balls of her feet to be closer. His tongue just pressed up against hers when Simon cleared his throat causing her to pull back from him.

They both watched her duck her head, turning pink.

“Shit, that why ya call her Sugar?” Simon asked after letting out a low whistle. That was the sweetest reaction he’d ever seen to being caught _kissing_ of all things.

“She’s just the sweetest goddamn thing I’ve ever had,” Negan chuckled before looking over at her father and her old leader. Her father looked angry, if not disgusted. Probably the proper reaction to someone within spitting distance of your age slipping his tongue in your child’s mouth. Eli looked… interested.

Jac tried to look over his hand and wrist when his fingers tightened in her hair, but she couldn’t tell who he was angry with. Worse Negan’s eyes fell on her and she was sure she didn’t want to hear the next thing he had to say. “That fucker ever touch you?”

“I… I tol…” She started.

“Not your old man,” Negan seethed.

“Eli? N-no… He… he liked…” She knew there was no way she was getting out what she wanted to say. She couldn’t do this right here.

Simon supplied the rest of her sentence for her, “That dirty old man liked to watch her get abused.” He didn’t sound any more pleased then Negan looked. Jac didn’t dare look away from him to see Simon’s face though.

Negan decided right then and there that man was going face first into the furnace. The iron was too good for any of them. “Fuck this we’ll be in my office, have someone bring me and my sweet girl some lunch. Make sure they give her some fruit. The real stuff too, none of that sludge fermenting in cans.”

oOo

“N-no one is g…gonna b-b-buy that I’m y-your as-s-sistant…” Jac insisted after Negan shut the door. “Y-you k-keep making me t-t-alk.” Kissing her like that probably wasn’t helping.

Negan turned around to regard her for a moment. She was probably right. He tried to imagine her in a black dress, but that didn’t sit well with him. At least not in that context. “You’ll start bringing the notebook around after this. You’ll start looking official when I start giving you shit to do. Then if you’re too flustered to talk to me you can write what you need to say in front of everyone.”

Jac huffed a little. When he just huffed out an amused breath and walked around his desk to drop down in his chair Jac remembered something. Decided it was safer to ask, “W-what happens if I d-d-don’t kneel?”

“You’ll buy yourself a ticket down to Easy St. for the night,” Negan said raising a brow at her. When she looked mildly confused he offered, “It’s the name we’ve given the jail downstairs.”

Jac frowned before walking over to one the chairs on the other side of the desk from him. She sat down chewing it over. She probably didn’t want to push it so publicly. “I got it…” She mumbled.

“So how was your tour?” Negan asked as he watched her lean back and trace patterns over the armrest.

“Simon was j-just working, but I… did like the gardens,” Jac smiled, her voice low. “I l-like the c-cats.” She’d wait and see if Simon told him about Negan-Cat.

Negan laughed, his head tilting back, “Of course you fucking do!” Pulling off his glove and throwing it on the desk where Lucille still sat he calmed and asked, “Anything else?”

“One of your jeep’s tr-transmission is shot, Simon’s s-supposed to tell you that it’s t-totaled, and I’m not allowed near the c-cars without you or Simon,” Jac said with a small shrug of her shoulders. It was really the only other thing of note that had happened on their adventures.

“Good girl,” Negan grinned. “You certainly are not allowed near the cars.”

Jac decided to move their conversation along rather than fight with him. “H-have you ridden a… motorcycle?”

“Yeah, how about you?” Negan returned the question. When she shook her head, he grinned and told her, “I could give you a ride.”

Her eyes widened in surprise, before she nodded quickly. She’d always wanted to ride one, even if it was just on the back of one. She’d never really been taught to drive anyway, not even regular cars.

Negan enjoyed the way her eyes lit up. Only it reminded him of his argument with Frankie.

_She’s your last chance to have someone love you, because no one here does._

“Hey,” Negan breathed, crooking a finger at her, “Come ‘ere.” She got up, but she looked at him so very confused. When she walked around the desk to him he grinned up at her and pulled her down to him, gathering her on his lap to look at her. “My Sweet Girl,” Negan huffed as he pushed her hair back from her face.

Jac still didn’t get what he saw when he looked at her, but it still made her smile when he said that. Only… maybe it shouldn’t… Maybe she shouldn’t be doing this. Maybe she needed to run… She still didn’t know what he really meant when he said she was his. She didn’t know how rough he intended to be with her. What did that mean for her? She was being stupid, wasn’t she? Here she was just crawling right into his lap, and things before had always hurt more when her dad had been nice first. Was she trading one evil for another? She’d been warned about that. That she couldn’t just trade one abuser for another. That she could end up doing that her whole life if she wasn’t careful. She couldn’t end up that way…

Negan could see the smile fade from her lips, and his faded right along with it. Her hands gripped his arms, and he dropped his hands down to her waist to keep her still. “Hey, hey, what just happened?!” He asked as she froze on him, her hands gripping his wrists when she found he wouldn’t let her up.

What was she supposed to say?

“I didn’t even look the fuck away from you, and something happened,” Negan growled as she focused on his scarf. “What dark fucking thing got into your head?” Jac shook her head at him and he could have bared his teeth at the action. “That wasn’t an answer Jac.”

Jac tried to get up. She tried to pull away from him, but he just pulled her closer. She couldn’t do this. Letting him be nice to her was a mistake. He could do so much more than spank her. Asking him to kiss her had been a mistake. This was one huge mistake she was watching happen like a train wreck, and when it all finally came to a stop her father would come barreling through it all to make it worse.

_Shit_. Negan changed his grip on her, hugging her to his chest, gently forcing her head to his shoulder, her face to his neck. She’d stopped talking, when had she stopped talking to him? She pushed weakly at his chest, and her body bucked under his arms every now and then, but it wasn’t a real struggle. She wasn’t really trying to get away, or she’d be on her feet by now at least. He wasn’t holding her that tightly. “Hey Sugar, come on, tell me what happened.” Negan pried thinking the kitchen better be making them something fucking difficult for lunch, because if one more person knocked on his door before he was ready to let go of her he was going to punch someone in the face.

Jac shook her head against his neck. She knew he’d be angry.

Negan wasn’t angry yet, and he decided he had to take some stabs in the dark, they didn’t have time for her to find her voice on her own. “Do you want to leave?” He asked even if the answer might be yes, maybe he’d take her on a run to get her out of The Sanctuary for a while and let her calm down.

She didn’t know. Maybe it’d be safer to lie and say that was the problem. However, the second she looked at him, and she would have to look at him, he’d know she was lying. She couldn’t imagine lying was okay. Jac finally shook her head, her hands trying to grip at his jacket.

Negan let go of the back of her neck just long enough to unzip his jacket for her. Her hands found their way passed the leather to grip his tee. Then he asked, “You afraid?”

Jac nodded hesitantly.

“Of wh…god fucking damn it!” Negan cut himself off as the knocking started again. He stood up with her and walked around the desk to sit her in one of the black chairs to answer the door. He swung it open, grabbed the tray from the teenager from earlier and kicked the door shut in his face. He took some measure of solace that the kid looked like he was going to piss himself he was so scared.

He put the food on the desk, without even looking at what it was, before he kneeled in front of Jac and went back to his question, “Of what?”

Jac didn’t know what she should say. She didn’t even know if she should be embarrassed of her answer or scared it was true. Neither seemed that appealing to her. Jac glanced up at his eyes, only to look back down at her knees. She couldn’t say it.

Negan frowned, “You’re afraid of me ain’t ya?”

Jac jerked in her seat. She didn't think he'd guess so fast, at least she hoped he wouldn't.

“You still afraid I’m gonna beat you?” Negan asked heatedly as he caught her chin and got her to look down at him. She looked guilty. He contemplated force-feeding her pleasure. Wondered if she’d remember she had a safe word to stop him in his tracks.

When his hands started pulling at her Jac keened and tried to stay in the chair, but Negan pulled her down into his lap, her legs on either side of his. Then he shuffled them around so he was seated on his butt, his legs out in front of him after he kicked away the chair. She wasn’t sitting on him now, more kneeling over him. Slowly his hands left her to support his weight behind him. He left her right there. Unsure of what she should do.

“I’m going to spank you.” He told her bluntly. When she jolted and used her hand on his shoulder to try and get up he stopped her by saying, “Not right now, but I am, and I’m gonna bite you. I’m not going to take chunks with me, but I’m going to leave marks so everyone knows who you belong to.”

Jac settled back onto her knees, though she was still uncertain.

“I’m going to kiss you, every-fucking-where.” Negan continued to list off the things he’d do to her, his eyes roving her body before popping back up to her eyes. “I’m going to lick you, and touch you, and I’m going to shove my hand down your pants, but probably not in the cafeteria. I’m going to eat you out until you’re shaking, and I’m going to get to see your pretty mouth around my cock.”

Jac knew she was blushing again, but she was still torn between getting up and staying. Nothing he was saying was a question, and that was exciting her, but she worried just as much as when him spanking her made her wet. What did this say about her?

Seeing she was still unsure Negan went on, “We are going to have sex, and we are both going to cum a lot, and you are going to fucking feel so damn good. Which you are very much allowed to do. I’m going to tie you up, and you’re going to let me do whatever I please to your body until you can’t see straight from the pleasure, and you’re going to call me Sir while I’m at it. That is until I want to hear you gasp, and moan, and pant, and maybe even scream my name if you can manage it.”

Her lower lip found its way between her teeth, but she only bit hard enough to feel it sting. She lowered herself so she was sitting on his thighs, her arms around her stomach. He made her feel warm, but there was still that _what if_ floating in her head.

“The whole time you will be able to make me stop just by saying red. If your mouth is occupied I’ll give you an action to stop what we’re doing.” Negan explained pleased that she’d settled, but he could still see whatever had spooked her swirling around her eyes. “You know what I’m not going to do?”

Jac shook her head.

“I’m not going to abuse you. I’m not going to break your bones. I’m not going to cut you up. I’m not going to burn you. I’m not going to belittle you, or tear you down. I sure as fuck will not let anyone else hurt you either,” Negan said as he forced himself to keep his hands on the floor. Let her touch him first.

Taking a deep breath, she forced out, “Alright…”

“Except it’s not,” Negan snarled his chin jutting out. Her shoulders had hunched more, she was looking to the side to avoid looking at him. It was worse than when she would focus on his chest, or neck. At least then she was looking at him.

“It is!” Jac tried to insist to herself, and him. Focusing on the floor next to them.

_Don’t touch her_. Played over and over in his head. _If you touch her she really won’t feel in control._

“Tell me why it’s not okay,” Negan bit out.

Jac didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t tell him he was going to hurt her, he just said he wouldn’t. That’s what she was afraid of, but what was she going to say? She couldn’t just call him a liar. She tried to look at him as she started to talk.

“You _better_ tell me the fucking truth Jac,” Negan caught her when she went to open her mouth, her eyes shut tight on him.

Her eyes shot open and Jac clutched at her own shirt tighter. When he didn’t move she told him quietly, “It…It hurt… more when h-he was nice first…”

Negan fisted his hands against the floor to stop himself from grabbing her.

Jac could see every dark thought passing over his features. It made her nervous to sit on someone so obviously angry. She couldn’t get up though. Where would she run to? No one would let her out. She could hide, but Negan would find her, or have someone find her for him. Then she really didn't know what he'd do to her.

“Touch me,” Negan finally demanded. When it looked like that was the scariest thing he’d told her in the last couple of minutes he blew out a purposely slow breath through his nose. Then he told her, “Not anywhere you don’t want to. Just touch me.”

Her eyebrows pushed together as she looked at him. He didn’t move except that his hands opened to press flat against the floor again. She didn’t really get it. Still she let go of her shirt and hesitantly reached up to touch his face. Her fingers brushed through the scruff of his beard. When she did he grinned a bit and she brushed her thumb lightly against the corner of his mouth. Jac couldn’t help but smile herself. She did like being close to him… there was no reason to lie to herself.

When she seemed content to pet him he told her, “I’m gonna let you in on a little secret.” Her hands stilled on him, and he made sure he’d caught her eye, “The submissive one is really the one with the control. I might get to do a lot of fun things to your body, tell you to do some spectacular things to mine, and I get to spank you when you’re being difficult, but you’re the one letting me.”

Jac’s fingers trailed down his neck as she frowned in thought. It still seemed like he had all the power. This all depended on him listening to her… so few people had listened to her in the past.

“If you don’t want me to do something to you that’s it. We stop, or we don’t do it in the first place,” Negan said as her fingers traced around the collar of his shirt. Her touch was light, as though she was afraid she’d be the one to hurt him. “Do you want me to punch you?”

Jac shook her head frantically her hands coming away from him.

“Then I am _not_ fucking allowed to punch you,” Negan insisted heatedly, “That is how the world should fucking work. That _is_ how it’s going to work between us. I only get to do things to your body if you want me to… Keep touching me.”

Jac’s eyes fell to his jacket, and Negan must have noticed because he shrugged it off before putting his hands back on the floor. She leaned forward a bit to brush her fingers up his arms. She hadn’t really been in the state of mind to pay them much attention before, but he had tattoos. She’d wanted some before the world went to hell. Jac was really just trying to distract herself from still trying to wrap her head around all this. She couldn’t stop him from getting what he wanted. He could just do what he wanted. People typically did what they wanted. He didn’t seem like the kind of man to let people tell him what to do. Especially not some kid less than half his age and barely half his size…

He could see her talking herself out of everything he was trying to drill into her. “Tell me I’m not allowed to punch you,” Negan told her.

Jac’s hands fled his body as she looked at his face.

“Do it Jac,” Negan ordered.

Jac frowned trying not to shrink in on herself before she muttered, “Y-you’re nnot allowed t-t-to punch me…”

“Okay,” Negan nodded. “Touch my face again, Sugar, and tell me something else I'm not allowed do.”

It was easier to rub at his jaw then to talk to him so she started there. After a moment she managed, “You’re n-not allowed to cut me…”

“Okay,” Negan hummed, “Another one.”

“Y-you’re not allow to…” Jac was unsure what to tell him, only then she did, “to share me.”

Negan grinned. That was A-Okay with him. Still he needed to know what she meant. “Explain.”

“Uh,” She knew why she said it. She’d been horrified when one of his wives looked as though he might shove his hands down her pants in front of everyone. Even when her dad hit her in front of people, it was worse than when it was in private. “K-kissing is okay… but I don’t want t-t-to do _stuff_ in f-front of anyone. I-I don’t want… I don’t want anyone else t-t-to t-ouch me… either… Not like that.”

“I have no plans of sharing you, Little Girl,” Negan told her as he leaned into her hand. “I’ll take the hands of anyone who tries to touch you. You’re mine. Mine. Mine.” He nuzzled her hand, and kissed her palm. He peeked an eye open on her to see her watching him and asked, “Do you feel better about this?”

Jac nodded, squirming a little. “Yeah…” She breathed.

“Is there something else you need to tell me?” Negan asked as he let her hands drift down his chest.

Jac thought about it before it hit her, and she remembered, and she stood up. Everything he said wouldn’t really matter. She moved from over him as he frowned up at her. She felt more secure about him not really hurting her, but that wouldn’t matter if she couldn’t have him anyway. “You still have _wives,_ ” she muttered shrinking in on herself. “I… W-we c-c-an’t do any of that stuff anyway…” They definitely shouldn’t have been kissing either.

Negan wanted to growl and snarl like a beast. He knew she hadn’t really forgotten, but that it hadn’t been on her mind. He could see that light for him dimming. “Jac,” he started, but she didn’t let him continue.

“No!” It burst out of her before she could stop it, and then the rest just came flooding out, “I-I’ve never done any of th-is! I won’t share! You’re n-not a toy to be passed around! And, I won’t be one either! Y-you can’t just decide you don’t want t-to play with me that day!”

Negan stood once she seemed to be done. If she were someone else he’d tell them to get the hell out of his office. Send her off to work for points until she figured out she couldn’t hack it. Make sure she got more hours then she could handle for less pay then everyone else. Claim it was because she was new and needed to earn her wages. She was different though, she wouldn’t slink back to him and beg him to take her back. Jac was the kind of stubborn that would work those hours and more until she was sick and couldn’t keep going. She’d end up in the pitiful branch of rooms they called a hospital ward, and he might come and take her to his room, and take care of her, but then they’d just start over.

He couldn’t play Jac.

She’d play his unfair game, and still win.

He’d never let her starve either.

Or leave her where her father could get her.

The longer he stood there looking at her, the more nervous Jac got. She didn’t know what he was thinking. She couldn’t judge his face for his emotions. Jac couldn’t identify how he was looking at her.

“You wouldn’t be one of them,” Negan said, trying to reason with her. He needed time before he could get rid of the wives. He wasn’t willing to let her go until he could swing it either.

Jac’s eyes narrowed on him. She thought carefully about what she wanted to say and forced herself to be loud enough to be heard. “Fine, if you can do things with them, I can do things with other men,” Jac insisted, carefully, purposely. She didn’t back down when it seemed like Negan’s eyes lit with fire, and his hands turned to fists by his sides. _He’s not allowed to punch me,_ she reminded herself.

Negan was right in front of her in one stride. They stood toe to toe because she wouldn’t back down from him. He could see the quaver in her lower lip though, and the way her shoulders tensed. He was scaring her. If he raised his hand she would flinch.

He wouldn’t do that.

“You are _mine_ ,” Negan growled, “No one will fucking have you but me. You are _my girl_.” When she tried to cut in again he stepped closer, so they were chest to chest and she had to look up to see him. It stopped her in her tracks. He grinned, “I won’t do anything with them, but I have to keep them around for a bit.” When he saw the doubt cloud her expression he told her, “Things around here are fucking delicate. It can’t look like you showed up and less than twenty-fucking-four hours later I have dropped everything for you. It wouldn’t be safe for either of us.”

He leaned back a bit with a toothy grin when she looked so thoughtful.

“Y-you won’t do anything w-with them?” Jac asked looking up at him.

“I won’t,” Negan agreed. “You’re the _only one_ I want to play with.”


	9. Realizations

Jac chewed her food thoughtfully. She wasn’t entirely sure what was on this sandwich, but Negan had insisted she just eat it and not ask questions. It was warm, delicious, and there was lettuce and tomato on it. The bread was fresh. They gave her raspberries this time. There was a thermos of cold water they were sharing…

 _“No backwashing,”_ Negan had chuckled at her.

She hadn’t eaten this well _before_ the dead started walking!

_So tastey!_

Only, suddenly, a possibility occurred to her and, Jac swallowed hard before she whined, “This isn’t c-cat is it?!”

“The fucking hell? _No_!” Negan insisted his eyes wide, like he couldn’t believe she would suggest such a thing. Like they all hadn’t stooped to eating a can of pet food… or maybe in Negan’s case forcing it on someone else. When someone knocked he called out, “Oh for fucks sake! Get in here!” He’d never been so annoyed by doors in his life. When he saw it was Simon he asked him, “What you been telling her that she thinks I’m feeding her cats.”

Simon shut the door as he busted out laughing. “I didn’t tell her that. She’s probably just scared for the cat she named after you!” Simon told Negan as he plopped down into the chair next to Jac.

“You named a cat after me?” Negan laughed right along with Simon as Jac looked down at her plate, embarrassed. “What? It bring you a mouse?”

“N-no,” Jac said before she popped a raspberry in her mouth, “He was black and white, I sus-suspected him of having many lady friends, and he t-treated me with mild aggression.” The description seemed to please him even more than his own idea of what a cat named after him should have done.

Simon grinned too insisting, “His exact name is Negan-Cat, I thought it was great.”

Negan rubbed at his chin, shaking his head fondly, “Look, no one eats the cats. They’re here for the mice and rats that get in. They got a job, and until they start being more trouble than useful no one is allowed to eat them.”

“Then w-what is this?” Jac asked as she looked down at the sandwich suspiciously.

“Rabbit,” Simon supplied the answer with a shrug even though it earned him a glared from Negan.

“Aww, b-bun-nies?” Jac whined, poking at her sandwich a bit.

“Oh no, you don’t get to act like that. You just asked me for Bambi and his mom on a silver platter,” Negan said leveling his pointer finger at her. “You’re going to eat that, and continue to enjoy it.”

“I’ll eat it,” Simon offered.

“The hell you will, get your own,” Negan huffed at him before taking a bite out of his own sandwich. “She’s small enough.”

“I know, and I did,” Simon grinned, “That kid you got in the kitchen is getting better.”

“The one that constantly looks at me like I’m going to unhinge my jaw and swallow him whole?” Negan asked as he opened the sandwich to inspect it like there’d be something visibly wrong with it. “He was supposed to wash dishes or some bullshit like that. I didn’t want him touching my food, and certainly not her food.”

“Yeah well, the lead cook started training him up,” Simon shrugged. “Said his mind was being wasted on dishes.”

Jac watched the two men continue to talk, eating slowly as she did. They strayed from the teen boy who’d dropped off their food and then they started to talk about things going on around the Sanctuary. Like how they’d gone on another run and came back with nothing.

“Sorry…” She breathed at that one.

They both looked at her suddenly before Negan scoffed, “Stop that, you didn’t do shit to cause that.” She shrugged her shoulders the smallest amount before she nodded a little too. He frowned but Simon stole back his attention insisting the ladies in the laundry room were on a rampage again.

“You’d think I’d married them all the shit they’re always asking for!” Negan huffed watching through glances as Jac settled down again and listened to them talk some more. “Do you remember last month when they asked for a damn sofa?! What does that have to do with laundry?!”

Jac couldn’t help but laugh with them as they continued on about the women down in the laundry and their ridiculous requests.

oOo

Jac gasped as Negan pushed her up against the wall next to the door. “Y-you said…” Jac tried to complain as Negan lifted her into his arms to have better access to her neck. He nipped at her and Jac couldn’t help but squirm against him.

“I’ll show you around later Sugar,” Negan huffed against her neck, scraping his teeth against her soft skin. “I wanna show you something else.” When Jac’s eyes landed on his lips he knew right away she was eager to see what else he might do with her. She hummed a little in question, her legs squeezing his sides. “You’ll see,” Negan chuckled before he attached his mouth to her collarbone.

Jac whined at the feeling of him sucking at her skin, his teeth nipping at her. It felt… really good. Better than kissing had. Her legs gripped at his waist, and she wasn’t sure what to do other than to cling to him. She pulled not so lightly at his hair, but she stopped when he sucked in a breath against her skin. “S-sorry!” she yelped, her hands leaping away from him, tucking them against her chest.

“Fuck Sugar, don’t be sorry,” Negan breathed against her jaw to get a look at her. “I like a little hair pulling. Especially from someone as fucking sweet as you.” She needed to keep touching him. He scraped his teeth lightly against the spot he’d spoken against before he tilted his head the other way and bit at her neck, letting his teeth sink against her flesh. Her hips jerked in his hands, her hands going back to his shoulders, and he walked them away from the door to drop them into one of the leather chairs in front of his desk. Her hands didn’t go back to his hair though. She leaned forward and her hands were pawing at the back of the chair behind his shoulders, little noises passing under his teeth.

Her hands moved to his shoulders as he worked at the side of her neck. One of his hands left her hips to burry in her hair. Jac gasped as he pulled at her hair, getting her to bare her neck more to him. He was sucking and biting at her skin, and it was only when he pressed a kiss to the now even more sensitized spot on her neck that she realized he was leaving marks on her.

She was making these small noises at him, and when he kissed the mark he did indeed leave on her she jerked in his hold. Negan grinned as she suddenly sat herself on his lap instead of kneeling over him. Baring his teeth to her slyly he insisted, “Fuck, I’m going to leave another mark!” He wanted to see how much he could make her squirm.

Jac didn’t even know if she was supposed to respond, let alone how, but he didn’t seem very worried as he picked her up and laid her back on his desk. Her hands found his jacket, and then his hair again as he pushed her tank top up and tugged her shorts lower to get at her uninjured hip. She didn’t know how to feel. It felt a lot, if she was being honest it felt really good. She liked the alternating from down right biting to kissing. Her hands tugged at his hair without really meaning too, and he’d hold her tighter, or bite down harder. She was only a little sorry that she was messing up his hair.

Her thighs squeezed together, and Negan decided that she must enjoy him biting her. Looking up at her, Negan found her head back, her mouth opened slightly. Beautiful. His eyes flashed dangerously over the marks others had left on her before he set to work even more determinedly. He couldn’t erase the other ones, but he was going to leave his own. Once he was satisfied with the hickey on her hip he let go, coaxed her hands out of his hair, and pulled her up. She watched him shyly for a moment, her eyes flitting down to his mouth. He knew she wanted a kiss and he gave it to her.

When he kissed her Jac pressed back, but his tongue had barely swept the inside of her mouth before he pulled back again. That’s when she found herself on her feet, bent over the desk. Actually, on her feet was generous, she was barely on tiptoes. She tried to get something out, right up until he pushed her shirts up higher, and his tongue trailed up her spine, making her arch under him. It made any objection she might have had fly right out the window.

Negan grinned as he kissed her shoulder blade, then between them, and then the back of her neck. She shuddered against him at that and that’s where he set to work yet again. She shivered and her hands went into her own hair at that, holding it out of the way for him. Then his hips pressed against her, and she couldn’t help but rock her hips back against him.

“Fuck,” Negan growled against the back of her neck, grinding against her. That’s when his walkie went off. Jac jolted under him and Negan reached around her to get to the thing. At least it wasn’t knocking. “What the fuck do you need?”

“Look the group that came in has kids, and we need somewhere to put them. Simon picked one of the women to be a caretaker, but we’re not sure where they can go during the day.” The man on the other end insisted.

Negan pressed his forehead to Jac’s shoulder, before he stood up and answered back, “Yeah, tell them we’ll have something by tomorrow morning. They can stay in whatever bunk room the caregiver is in for now.”

“Copy that.”

Jac stood up and turned around to lean on the desk watching Negan rub his face in thought. Negan looked to her as he clipped the walkie to his belt. “You gonna shh-ow me around?” She asked hopefully.

Negan laughed and nodded saying, “Yeah now I’ll show you around. Grab your notebook and pen, I’m going to need you to make a list of the empty rooms we come across, and then we’ll pick one.”

Jac smiled brightly and nodded.

oOo

Jac jotted down the approximation of the room dimensions Negan told her while he turned Lucille in circles by his side. The plaque outside the room insisted the room was STORAGE 009. It was cleared out already, not even boxes. Negan had all the room he wanted to fidget, and move around, and it was hard for Jac not to grin at him. He was always moving.

“Th-this one is th-the biggest ssso far,” Jac insisted, to distract herself, as she stuck the pen behind her ear, and looked the page over. “It alsso has w-windows… and it’s only on the second floor…”

“Of course, you want to give it to the kiddies,” Negan chuckled as he walked back over to her, and kissed Jac on the forehead.

“W-well it’s j-just that they need space, tables… things to play with, children’s b-books… places… to… put them…” Jac trailed off as Negan grinned down at her. She had hated seeing the kids never able to have fun. Always pushed off to the side. Squeezed in wherever anyone would allow them. They needed space, and they deserved nice things.

Negan watched her toe the ground, a lot obviously on her mind, “Come on there’s some things we can put in here now. Tables, chairs, a desk. There might be some kids’ things around here somewhere, too.”

“Really?!” Jac chirped, looking up at him excitedly. Reaching out to grab his hand with her free one.

“Yeah, Sugar, we’ll get some workers to haul it up here, check around the storage rooms for any toys, or games,” Negan grinned, though his eyes darted down to where she’d grabbed onto him. That was oddly thrilling. Tightening his hand on hers Negan started to lead her out into the hall.

 _“Hey Negan,”_ Simon’s voice filtered through over the walkie attached to Negan’s belt. _“We have an issue down here in the loading bay, I’m going to need you to come down here.”_

“I’ll be right down,” Negan growled lowly after he pressed down the button. Then he turned to look down at Jac a frown taking his lips. She frowned back up at him, but then her eyes flitted off down the hallway and Negan turned to find Joey had turned the corner and was walking towards them. “Joseph!” Negan called after him as he led Jac towards the husky man.

“Uh… yeah boss?!” Joey answered readily if not nervously. He couldn’t remember in recent memory the last time Negan called him by his popper name. It’d been at least a week since he called him something other than Fat Joey.

“This is Jacqueline, call her Jac. You’re going to take her down to the staging floor, and get four or five people to lug anything she wants from the basement up to this room. _Anything_ _she wants._ ” Negan stressed getting a fevered nod from the man. “She’ll make you a list and you’ll do most of the talking.”

“I got it boss,” Joey nodded before Negan started walking off.

“If anything happens to her remember, _Lucille is thirsty!_ ” Negan called back over his shoulder.

Joey’s head snapped back around to look at the girl in front of him. She was short, thin… and sporting a very noticeable hickey on the side of her neck. He scratched at the back of his neck. Negan would paint the walls with him if something happened to her, for sure. “So, uhm, you want to write the list now…. Or?” his question trailed off as he found Jac looking up at him curiously.

Jac snapped out of wondering about his walkie carrying status, and nodded as she hummed out an affirmative noise. She turned to a new page and started listing out the big things: Two tables, five chairs, one desk, one office chair, a book shelf (if available). Then at the bottom she put: Any children’s toys/games/books available. After she tore it out and handed it over to Joey.

Joey looked it over before he nodded, “Oh, for those kids that came in. Yeah come on, we have most of this.”

oOo

Jac frowned as Joey picked out some men to help them get everything they needed from the basement. One of them was her father, and the other was Eli. Jac tried to get Joey’s attention without drawing too much attention to herself, but he was already asking the man behind the desk, and a large ledger book, about the kinds of things in the basement. The men had already been paid. There was a man with blonde hair down to his shoulders. Another with close cropped light brown hair. Maybe if she just stayed out of the way…

Hopefully Negan would come back…

“Alright men let’s get going!” Joey insisted as he walked back towards her. He led the way and Jac kept close to him. She glanced over her shoulder and found her father glaring at her. After that she kept her head down and kept silently telling herself she was okay over and over.

As long she stayed with Joey. She wouldn’t be alone, and if something happened Joey would tell Negan… He’d been told to keep her safe.

Once they were down in the basement they all started looking around for the things on the list. First was the desk which her father and Eli were told to take up. She’d told Joey the room number on the second floor so he wouldn’t go with them. The blonde, she found out to be a man named Dwight took up a rolling chair they found. Next was two tables the four men took up…

The entire time Jac kept watching the door hoping that Negan would come down. At least Joey didn’t leave her alone. He never saw the looks her father was giving her though…

Jac moved through the rows of things trying to find anything for kids. Board games. Toys. Hell, she’d settle for a ball. She did manage to find a stack of plastic chairs though and with a huff she started to drag them back towards the stairs that led up to the rest of the factory. There was only three kids, but this way there’d be extra’s. Joey caught her and rushed over to pick them up.

“I can…” Jac started carefully.

“It’s alright, I got it!” Joey said moving it the rest of the way to the stairs. With none of the men back with what they were carrying yet Joey looked at Jac asking, “Negan’s really letting you get all this for the kids?”

Jac smiled and nodded, before she offered slowly, “Well, he said… no one else is using it…” She didn’t want Negan to look soft. At least not purposely so. “The kids need… somewhere to be…”

“Yeah, Negan’s all about restarting civilization. Kids must be a part of that if you think about it.” Joey said as they drifted back to the piles of stuff. Unfortunately, it was mostly office supplies and furniture. Some machine parts. Jac trailed over to a box finding tons of printer paper. Grinning she dragged it from the desk it was piled on top of. Only to nearly drop it. She wasn’t prepared for how heavy it was, but she sured up her grip before she could let it fall.

“Got it?” Joey asked as she started to cart it towards the stairs.

“Mmhmm,” Jac hummed even if it put some strain on her injuries. She pushed it on top of the chairs before she started looking critically at the boxes. “Please look for ssstuff…” _damn it_ “to write with…” If nothing else the kids would be able to draw. Maybe practice their writing… or learn it…

“Oh, ah, of course,” Joey said before he started looking through boxes.

“Hey, this stuff too?” one of the men called after them from the stairs.

“Yeah Josh!” Joey called back.

Jac grinned as she found a box of highlighters stashed in a desk drawer. She wasn’t sure the paperclips were really practical, but she grabbed them too. When she looked Joey found a hand full of pens in a different desk. She grinned at him, but the next voice was her fathers, “These fucking chairs too?”

“Yeah, them too,” Joey said with a frown as he watched Jac cringe and drift further into the isle away from the voice. He followed quietly after her looking into the boxes they passed.

Jac clammed up then, and just concentrated on looking for things. She couldn’t just run off. Joey would realize something was really wrong. Most of the boxes she looked in had machine parts. One box had miscellaneous clothes in it but none of them seemed small enough for the kids. The next box was more promising. It had actual kids’ things in it. Dolls, a box of crayons that were only a little used, a coloring book, and a little further digging provided a few kids’ books. She smiled a bit and tilted the box to show her find, dumping in the highlighters and paperclips. Only… she looked at the box harder as she picked it up.

Where was the child that went with this stuff?

“Oh!” Joey said realizing what Jac was thinking, “Sometimes we loot houses, and just grab anything. There’s also the col… oh you don’t know about those…”

Jac frowned deeper. “Don’t know about what?” Every word was deliberate and slow. She wanted to know.

“I don’t know, maybe Negan should tell you,” Joey frowned as he stuck his hands in his pockets.

Jac narrowed her eyes on the man, but then Eli was over his shoulder. She gripped the box harder, so she didn’t step back. She couldn’t risk looking even more like a scared little girl.

“Jackie doesn’t talk much, but damn sometimes the looks she gives could cut steel,” Eli whistled with a big grin.

“You know her?” Joey asked, looking closely at the man for a moment.

“Yeah, she was a part of my group before she was Negan’s new toy,” Eli said taking his eyes from her to look at Joey.

Joey frowned deeply before moving to take the box from Jac, to give to Eli, saying, “Here’s the last box. We’re done.” He wasn’t sure why, but he didn’t care for the man talking about Jac like that.

“That’s it?!” Dwight called as he walked towards them.

“Yeah, that’s everything on the list that we have down here,” Joey said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Negan will have to have the scavenging teams go out for the rest. Get the other two and tell them that’s it!” he added as the two men walked away from them. Once they were gone he looked at Jac in panic, asking, “Why didn’t you tell me he wasn’t allowed near you?!”

Jac bit her lip with a shrug, “Didn’t wanna fuss…”

Joey groaned as he turned to lead her out of the basement, “At least nothing happened… maybe he won’t kill me….”

Frowning Jac hurried after Joey and slipped by the larger man to stand on the stairs in front of him. “I won’t t-tell.” Jac insisted knowing that Negan might react badly to Joey not knowing who he was hiring. Even then Negan wouldn’t kill Joey… right?

Relief flooded through Joey’s features that made Jac wonder, before he said, “Let me take you back up to his office.”

Jac nodded, moving off to the side, to let Joey lead the way. Negan did kill Hunter… He’d been about to rape her though… Joey just made a mistake…

No matter. She just wouldn’t tell Negan, and Joey certainly wouldn’t tell him…

Enduring some glaring wasn’t so bad.

Nothing even happened.

Jac smiled a bit at the ground in front of her. Her dad couldn’t hurt her now.


	10. How Old Are You?

_“Joey did you get the job done?”_

Jac grinned wickedly at the man nervously throwing cards down with her in their very high-stakes game of speed. Negan’s voice was crackling in over the walkie. Then there was a very ominous silence, before Jac broke it. “He’s g-gonna be mad,” Jac taunted throwing down two more cards. “Ya better answer him.”

“Not gonna lose,” Joey insisted as his cards went down on the two piles. “Gonna get that iPod.”

“Uh-huh, those c-c-omics are mine,” Jac laughed as they both had to stop, and they both turned a new card over.

_“Where the fuck is Fat Joey guys?!”_ Negan’s voice was full of anger, and warning.

_“I think he took your assistant up to your office,”_ another voice cut through the silence. _“His walkie is probably dead, he has the shittiest one.”_

“I-I’m so gonna win, when he gets up here, a-and you gotta kneel,” Jac grinned. Joey turned out to be a good guy. He’d had a deck of cards in his pocket, and they’d started playing a few games to pass the time. The time went faster when they learned they had shared interests. Then it led to Joey saying he had a stash of comics in his room, and Jac admitted to there being a iPod in her backpack that just needed a charge. If she won she got her pick of twenty of his comics if he won her iPod was his.

“You gotta kneel too!” Joey complained as they both got down to their last few cards.

“He’ll forgive me!” Jac insisted as their voices got louder the fewer cards they had. Both tasting victory.

_“He better be in my office you sorry shits! You were told to keep an eye on my assistant!”_

Jac and Joey could actually hear him hollering in the hallway outside the door.

Joey faltered as Jack picked up the last of her cards in her pile. He recovered enough to get his cards in his hand, but she was already down to one. She just needed one, and Negan was yelling closer and closer to the door. Joey didn’t know what card she needed and he tried to get all of his down, but after he put down the jack she threw down her queen before he could put down his own, just as Negan opened the door.

“ _SPEED!_ ” Jac cheered jumping up from Negan’s chair as Joey spun out of his chair with a soft curse to kneel. “I won! T-told you so!” Her eyes landed on Negan as she proudly announced, “Negan I won!”

Negan had been ready to tear Joey a new one. He’d been ready to snarl and growl, and tear everything apart. Have a field day with Lucille, even if it was in his office. Instead, warmth spread through his chest as Jac grinned widely at him, Lucille lightly swung down to be at his side. He let a grin spread across his lips, but it was dirtier than the soft feeling in his chest. “Oh, Jaqueline we fucking talked about this. Yer supposed to be kneeling too.” He noted her pout and looked down at Joey for a moment. “Before we go correcting your behavior, did Joseph here take good care of you?”

Full names for everyone. They were definitely walking a thin line.

“Yes, he did everything you asked…” Jac said slowly even if Joey knew she had a problem talking. She’d been stammering and stuttering in front of Joey the whole time they were upstairs. He’d told her he had a friend when he was little that use to stutter. He didn’t seem bothered. Jac was also sure that they were just keeping each other’s secrets at this point. She wasn’t going to mention her father or Eli.

“Good! Joey, you can leave. Jacqueline, you better get over here and get on your knees,” Negan threw out his orders. Joey moved to obey him immediately, but his eyes flitted back to Jac as she moved around the desk. He seemed concerned…

Negan would investigate it later. For now, he looked back to find Jac faltering as she stood in front of him. She heard the door shut, but she was too caught up in Negan watching her to see Joey go. He pushed his hand gently down on her shoulder, and she moved down onto a knee. He clicked his tongue disapprovingly and then she dropped her other knee to the ground as well.

“How nice was he being to you? Negan asked as he admired her down on her knees.

“Regular nice?” Jack said, unsure what Negan was looking for. “He owes me t-twenty c-c-comics,” She couldn’t help but smile even as she had to look up at him.

“Oh, you were betting,” Negan breathed a little more mollified. She’d probably legitimately won, and Joey wasn’t trying to butter her up by letting her win.

“Yeah, I get to k-keep my iPod,” Jac nodded before Negan moved closer to her, and she sat back on her heels a little intimidated by their position. “He worked at a c-omic shop before.”

“Mmh,” Negan hummed distracted as he moved even closer to her, his foot landing right between her slightly spread knees. She hummed back at him, her eyes glued to his. “Maybe I should leave you down there. Yer so pretty on your knees Sugar.”

Jac swallowed thickly as her eyes traveled up his leg to the zipper of his pants. She wondered if he wanted to show her something else, and if she’d be able to handle it if he did.

Negan licked his lips as he watched her. He could see her very much naked and kneeling in front of him, until he told her to turn around and put her ass in the air, her cheek on the ground… He’d have to reposition her so her legs were spread wide, almost too wide for her to keep her balance… He blinked and his fantasy vanished and he focused on the innocent wide grey eyes looking up at him.

He wanted her naked… so bad.

Jac was sure Negan was think something dirty. The way his tongue played with his lower lip, and the inside of his cheek she knew he had to be thinking something naughty. His eyes slid over her before he blinked and bit his lip. She thought he was going to be finished. That he’d say something so they’d move on, but instead his eyes darkened on her.

“Fuck, I want you naked,” Negan let her in on his exact thought.

Her legs tried to slide closed, but his foot was still there. It stopped her from trying to relieve the ache that suddenly made itself known between her thighs. Negan carefully slid closer so his leg was flush with her front, her chin on his thigh so she could look up at him still. “I want you bent over and playing with yourself where I can see you perfectly.” He grinned when color flooded her face. “I’ll only touch you after I see you cum.”

Jac frowned, her hand gripping his jeans. “I’ve nn-never…” She trailed off too embarrassed to really say it to him.

“You’ve never what?” Negan asked suddenly, his eyes wide with curiosity. Only as she hid her face against the side of his thigh he knew. “You’ve never had an orgasm.” He wiggled his leg a bit trying to get her to look at him, but she just clung to his jeans a little harder. His lips twitched up in a little grin at her and surmised, “Not for lack of trying.”

“I-it felt g-g-good, but I w-was always afraid… th-th-at I’d get c-c-aught… or I… I’d j-just get fru…frus…” Jac whined against his leg, sinking lower when it felt like she couldn’t finish.

“Frustrated…” Negan breathed as he watched her. She nodded against him, and Negan told her, “I can help with that.” He really wanted to help with that. Only there really was no rest for the wicked.

oOo

Jac followed uncomfortably behind Negan with her notebook in hand and her pen behind her ear. Simon had walked in with her still pressed up against Negan’s leg, about to ask him if he really would help her. Simon had cleared his throat, Negan cursed at him and called him a _cockblocking son of a whore_ , and Simon shot readily back at him that he was a _dirty cradle robbing old fucker._ It had ended in laughter though, and what seemed to be friendly punching. They looked for all the world to be in good spirits… despite the problem they were walking towards…

There had been some fighting at one of the commissary lines. Simon said the guy had been yelling about it not being fair. Yelling about how they were letting this happen. That they were just slaves, or something like that. Simon didn’t seem concerned, and Negan practically had a bounce in his step.

Jac pressed her teeth into her lower lip as they walked out onto a platform and Negan hit Lucille against the metal railing, getting everyone’s attention. Everyone below them took a knee. Negan started in right away. “So, it has come to my attention that some of you are fucking unhappy. Starting fucking fights and preaching about being slave labor. Well guess the fuck what?!” There was a long pause where Jac was positive that Negan was going to tell them something along the lines of _too damn bad._ She was surprised when he said instead, “I’m not even fucking mad.”

He turned to her and handed her Lucille. Jac tried not to fumble as she watched him lean on the railing.

“Look, before the end, most if not all of you worked nine to five, or some equivalent, doing shit you hated, for shitty pay, that you used on shit you didn’t need.” He still gestured with his hands as he continued, “Having said that, not a damn thing has changed. In fact, most of you probably work less now, and putting food in your belly has become a bit more of a priority. You put food on your plates and others by working in the garden. You keep our home clean. You keep us looking good doing laundry. Some of you protect what we have, and others are our own little retail workers, stockers, and cashiers. You know what has changed? Dead people keep popping up, and you fucking live in a factory.”

Jac’s eyes scanned the people she could see. Some of them were nodding, some of them blank, others still angry.

“You don’t like it, you are free as fuck to go. No one is keeping you here,” Negan shrugged, and leaned a little further over the railing. “I will personally help you pack if you fucking want. All of you kneeling in front of me are doing so of your own fucking volition. If you’ve forgotten that, my bad. I’m reminding you that there is a door right in front of you. It is not locked. The men at the gate will fucking see you out!” He paused before adding with a wicked grin, “In fact if you don’t want to be here you can stand and go now.”

Jac saw most of the angered ones faces go blank or worried. Those must have just been the ones that wanted to bitch and moan.

When no one seemed to move he stood up and with a grand gesture of his arms insisted, “Those of you that are staying, you get fresh vegetables with dinner tonight! No points needed!”

Jac was impressed. People actually clapped, and whooped. Only then she felt guilty, because Negan was feeding her way better than just vegetables. All she’d done was follow him around, and insist that he give some kids a large room and some stuff no one was using… insisted they go out and get more things…

“Now, with all of this being said, and it all out in the open that if you don’t like _it_ there’s the door. The next person that goes around causing trouble in the name of how awful it is around here I will make sure that you have something to bitch about. And, I will make sure you’re alive to bitch about it!” Negan announced loudly, a hard look in his eyes. “You are excused!”

Jac bit her lip as Negan took Lucille back. When he raised a brow at her she mumbled, “Maybe you c-could have ssstopped with free veg-etables…”

“Where would the fun in that be?!” Negan asked as he swung Lucille up onto his shoulder. “Hey, make a note of the free vegetable thing, and why. I should probably keep track of the band aids I slap on things.”

oOo

The rest of the day went smoothly. Jac followed Negan around while he checked on this and that, and largely just seemed to bullshit with the other men in charge. She didn’t mind. It was nice to follow him around. No one paid her much attention, except Negan. His fingers would find her hair if she was standing next to him while he was talking. Sometimes he’d grip the back of her neck, flexing his fingers now and then… It was really nice when he touched her… She’d never really enjoyed people touching her before.

Now they were in the cafeteria, and while most of the workers were already gone the true Saviors had just piled in. Negan sat next to her on the bench and Simon sat across from them. A woman named Arat was sitting next to her, and she didn’t seem to mind that she didn’t talk.

“Arat you know she hasn’t said a word since you started talking right?” Simon asked as Arat laughed lightly. At what, Simon could only guess.

“Oh no, you don’t get to act like I’m crazy!” Arat insisted as she pointed her fork at Simon. “She is the most expressive person I’ve ever met, the look she just gave me when I suggested she have a gun.”

Jac shook her head hastily, this time waving her arms in a negative fashion. She was positive she’d accidently shoot someone who was alive. Worse she’d probably get them right in the head, and you couldn’t take that back. She was better off with the knife, where you had to get close. “That’s not safe,” Jac managed to say, even with everyone looking at her.

“Damn fucking straight that’s not safe! She’d probably get me right between the eyes and not even mean it!” Negan insisted through his laughter, as he slung an arm around her.

“Look how horrified she looks!” Timmy, the man from this morning, laughed.

“Oh, how sweet are you?!” Arat laughed heartily. “It’s not like it’s going to happen!”

“She’s just sweet as sugar ain’t she!” Negan boasted as he gave her a dramatic kiss on the cheek. “Worried about little ol’ me!”

It all devolved into laughter and the teasing turned to Arat as Simon asked why she wasn’t sweet like Jac. Then it went on and on, soon most of their plates were empty of the stir-fry that had been tonight’s dinner, and all the remaining workers cleared out. Someone busted out what seemed to be moonshine. Some of the guys ran off and returned with some scavenged beer. Arat walked off into the kitchen and returned with a bottle of what had probably been cheap wine and two wine glasses.

Negan had a mason jar of something that would probably make him blind, his arm once more around Jac’s shoulders as Arat pushed a glass of red wine on her. She looked unsure as Arat’s attention was pulled elsewhere and he leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Go ahead, one glass won’t hurt on top of that full belly Sugar.”

Jac tasted it. The wine managed to be sweet even with that tangy-bitterness that came with alcohol. The kind that made you want to scrunch up your nose, but she resisted. It was fruity passed the bite of alcohol. She took another drink and grinned when Arat turned back to her knocking away Negan’s arm saying, “Hey! I want her for a little bit boss!”

A snort started Negan’s laugh, “You just remember who she really belongs to!”

“Who woulda thought Negan’d go for something so sweet!” Simon taunted him, pulling Negan’s attention away. The two men started throwing barbs at each other. Other’s getting in on it, only for Negan and Simon to team up against the other men. As though it just wasn’t right for anyone to insult one man but the other.

“You didn’t wanna be a wife huh?” Arat asked as she drank down some of her own wine.

“No,” Jac said shaking her head. “I still get ta follow him aroun’ though.” She didn’t say anything about Negan telling her he wouldn’t do things with them anymore.

“Psh, the wives don’t follow him around! They stay upstairs, unless they fieldtrip down here! They stay up there in their parlor.” Arat explained as Negan jumped up from his seat to get in on some arm wrestling down the other end of the table. His hand gently squeezed the back of her neck on his way by. “Those black widows should be taken out on runs, they’re already dangerous, imagine what they could do armed.”

Jac bit her lip at that, and asked, “How many… are there?”

Arat’s eyes widened, and she watched Jac nervously drink more, before she softened just a bit and insisted, “Don’t worry about it, he’s sweet on you. I can tell. Getting you to follow him around. Calling you Sugar. Touching you all nice. If you’d be his wife, he’d have you.”

Jac’s face warmed, and her shoulders hunched, but Arat just topped her glass back off with an amused breath. She glanced at the people around them, but no one seemed to be paying them any mind.

“It’s alright Jac-Jac, the men won’t figure it out until he fucks someone up for looking at you wrong,” Arat explained as she turned to sit cross-legged on the bench watching Jac squirm around. “Now sweet stuff! I bet you’re vicious when someone makes you mad!”

“I don’t know about that! But she has one hell of a poker face!” Simon insisted as he stopped behind them.

Jac couldn’t help but smile up at Simon. She was started to get really fond of him. He seemed good natured. Like he used to work with a lot of people, and a lot of those people really liked him. The kind of man that got Christmas presents from his clients.

“She beat me at cards!” Joey huffed as he sat down across from them, “We were playing speed, but I still feel hustled!”

“You still owe me c-comics!” Jac insisted, only to take another drink of wine to try and hide how she slipped up. She was comfortable, kind of, but it was still hard to stop it.

“Yeah I know!” Joey laughed, “I’ll bring the box by Negan’s office tomorrow.”

“Oh, you gotta come to poker night!” Arat grinned. “I’d love to play you!”

“Winner, winner, chicken dinner!” Negan shouted as he slammed the arm of another man down at the end of the table. Jac couldn’t help but grin as she leaned to see what was going on. Negan caught her watching and winked at her before her attention as pulled back to her own conversation.

“You’d be screwed Arat! I’ve actually seen her _wipe that look off_ her face. It’s insane!” Simon laughed as he sat between them, his back against the table.

“You just don’t want her to come because you think she’ll wipe the floor with you!” Arat laughed.

“Damn right!” Simon agreed. “I do not want to be put to shame by a… how old are you?” He back tracked as he looked at Jac.

Jac looked up from her drink, her eyes landing them on Simon as she said, “I’m… actually not really sssure… Negan said someone… knew the date…”

“September tenth,” Joey told her with a firm nod. “Negan says I’m sappy, but… what? What’s the tenth?”

“My b-birthday!” Jac insisted with the widest grin. “I’m eighteen!”

“No fucking way!” Simon yelled before looking to where Negan was egging on two guys in the next arm wrestling match. “Negan! Boss! Sweetheart over here just turned eighteen today!”

“No shit!” Negan crowed as he walked over with his jar of moonshine. He waited as she spun around on the bench to look up at him with a toothy grin as some people yelled happy birthday over each other. “Oh! Look who’s all fucking proud of themselves for being born!” Hell he was pretty sure he was proud of her for being born.

Jac couldn’t help how happy she was as Simon ruffled her hair and Negan took another swig of his drink before setting it down behind her. Before she could say anything, Negan kissed her full on the mouth before he pulled her up from her seat. She was still too stunned to resist when he hefted her up onto his shoulder.

“I think I’m going to give Jac here her birthday spankings!” Negan laughed as he started walking her out of the cafeteria. There was some whooping and hollering following after them. Once they were away from the cafeteria Negan let her down, but he had her up against the wall in no time. His lips on hers again.

Jac hooked her arms around his neck and returned the kiss eagerly. She’d been disappointed when Simon interrupted them. She just wanted to go back upstairs with him. Negan hefted her up into his arms and she clung to him more. She pulled back to kiss his jaw, but his hands fisted in her hair and bought her back to his mouth. He pushed harder against her. And she gasped against his lips. “Please…” Jac breathed. She didn’t really know what she was asking for. Just that she wanted more.

“Please what?” Negan asked against her neck. When she seemed tongue tied he leaned back to look at her with a grin that sent men running. Jac on the other hand let out a hot little breath. “You want that help I was talking about earlier? Where I get to pet that pretty pussy you got.”

“Yes please,” Jac nodded a little, even if it embarrassed her that she liked how he spoke.

“Ah, ah, ah, you want help like that you better call me Sir,” Negan breathed against her ear.

“P-p-please Sir,” Jac stumbled over her words in her embarrassment. She still wanted him to help her. She still wanted to feel good. She really wanted him to make her feel good. He said it was okay…

Negan frowned a little though before he asked, “You feel drunk? Tell the truth?” Arat had been pretty liberal with that wine, he saw her filling that glass back up before it was even half empty. She wasn’t filling it to polite society standards either. Those were full-full glasses.

“No Sir…” Jac said with a firm shake of her head. She maybe felt a little something, but everything was clear. She didn’t feel impared. She really wanted to know what she was missing. She really wanted Negan to show her.

“Let’s get that ass upstairs then!” Negan insisted as he pulled her from the wall and smacked her ass to get her moving.


	11. If Love Be Rough With You, Be Rough With Love

Jac barely got in the room, Negan was so eagerly kissing every part of her he could get to. Once the door was shut she pulled him back to her lips eager to get another kiss from him. He nipped at her lower lip before dipping back now to the crook of her neck. Jac’s fingers found the back of his neck, tracing along his hairline until his back straightened suddenly.

“Fuck I like that,” Negan chuckled hoarsely before he gave her the choice, “I can get you off with just my fingers.” He told her when she tried to tug her shirt back down. He wanted to undress her, but he didn’t need to. “You don’t gotta be naked.” It was her birthday.

“N-no, please, I… uh…” Jac stumbled to a halt even standing still as she looked up at him pleadingly. She wanted him to see her. She wanted to do what he wanted, even if this was supposed to be for her. “Please… I want to be…” She couldn’t say it.

He wouldn’t make her say it. Not yet. There’d come a time where he’d make her tell him everything she wanted. Today wasn’t that day. Instead he bumped his forehead against hers, before he gripped the hem of her shirt, insisting, “Up.”

Jac tried not to chicken out. She even let him unclasp her bra, and pull it from her to toss on the ground with her shirt. After that, though, her arms rushed up to cross over her chest, to hide herself from him. He hummed lightly, amusement clear as he unbuttoned her shorts. Then they were around her feet with her underwear.

Negan gripped her shoulders getting her to look up at him before he asked, “You sure you wanna do this?”

“Y-yes…” Jac stammered, but when he raised a brow at her she quickly added, “Sir.” This is what she wanted.

“That’s my Little Girl,” Negan huffed affectionately as he got her hands away from her breasts. “Fuck, you have pretty tits…” He brushed his thumb against one of her rosey nipples, getting her to grip at his tee, stand up straighter, and lean into him all at once. Looking around he offered, “It’s your birthday present. You wanna open it on the floor or the bed?”

“Uhmm…” Jac’s eyes flitted from the bed to the space on the floor in front of it. “B-b-bed?” She knew it came out as more of a question, but she was naked, and he was looking at her very intently. He’d taken off his jacket, but he was very much not naked, and somehow that didn’t seem fair. She was not going to ask him to be naked though…

“Probably a good idea,” Negan agreed heatedly as he started backing her towards the bed. When she looked up at him questioningly, he nipped at her jaw and told her, “If love be rough with you, be rough with love.”

“I-I don’t think tha-at quote means…” Jac started, but trailed off when he lifted her a bit and got her on the bed. She bounced a little, and caught herself on her hands behind her.

“Shut up, I taught phys-ed not English Lit,” Negan growled as he walked around the bed, pulling his boots off as he went. When her eyes widened he told her, “We’ll talk about past lives a different time.” When she nodded he explained himself, “Life has been fucking rough with you Sugar. You might want your lovin’ a little rough. Where you can control it, stop it when you need to. Which is just fine with me.”

“How d-do you know?” Jac asked as she turned a little to watch him crawl onto the bed.

Negan put some pillows behind his back before leaning back to look at her, “I don’t, not for sure, but we’re going to see. I got a great hunch going on though. See, you are not the first woman I’ve spanked. You are one of a few that was into it,” when she seemed to shrink a little he held his hands out for her insisting, “Don’t get me wrong Sweet Girl, I’m fucking into you being into that.”

Jac watched him for a moment before she crawled to up to him, feeling extremely self-conscious. When Negan pulled her closer Jack buried herself against him. She was sure she wanted to do this, but it was different to be naked in front of someone…

“Alright Sugar,” Negan warned her before he forced her onto her back, getting on his knees over her. She gripped his arms, her legs clamping against his waist. “What do you gotta say if you need me to stop?”

“Red…” Jac breathed as Negan cupped her breasts.

“Good girl,” Negan huffed as he ran his hands down her sides to grip her hips as he looked down at her. The bruises and cuts that littered her body drew his attention now that she was splayed out in front of him. Now he could see all of them, unobstructed. She must have figured out what he was looking at because she tried to curl on her side to hide from him. “Ah, ah, what happened to my good girl?” He taunted as he pulled her onto her back again. “You’re going to have to be good if you want your gift.”

Jac knew she made a face, as she looked up at him. Negan was all scruff, and rough edges, but she had to be good? The thought flashed across her mind, and evidently her face, before she could shake it loose. Negan caught it. He bared his teeth in a way that reminded her of wild animals. The kinds in movies that just knew they were bad, and were pleased as punch to prove it.

Negan leaned down over her after he pulled her so she was closer to his body. He had to push her legs down to get down next to her ear as he whispered darkly, “I bet you’re wondering who I am to talk. You wanna be naughty? We can see what that gets you.”

Jac’s eyes widened as he pulled back to look down at her.

Negan licked his lips as he looked down at her intently. He wanted her to do it. He wanted to see her fire. Only then she pushed back from him, her feet pressing into the bed, so she wasn’t under him fully anymore. “Shit,” He cursed himself, only she pressed back just the tiniest bit more, her lip caught between her teeth.

For a moment she thought he wouldn’t chase her.

“Fuck!” He chuckled devilishly as he grabbed her hips and jerked her back to him. “You do wanna play!”

Jac pushed at his hands and tried to pull away from him, twisting, but he just shoved her onto her belly his hand harsh against the small of her back. She tried to get away on hands and knees, but he pulled her back, and his palm stung her backside. Jac gasped pressing her forehead to the comforter, but then his hand slid around to cup between her legs. God, she’d never been this sensitive before.

Negan used his other hand to spank her when her thighs closed on his exploring hand. “Uh-huh open those legs for me Baby Girl,” Negan hummed as he wiggled his fingers between her legs. When she shook her head against the bed he smiled slyly before he smacked her ass, hard. She whimpered, trying to push at the hand between her legs, and he did it again. It took a second, but she opened her legs for him…

It felt like her heart was going a mile a minute, but she couldn’t get enough. The spot he was touching ached, but she knew it was with need. It was the kind of ache where she wanted to rub against his hand, because she was positive that would make it better. His middle finger pressed between her folds and Jac grasped at his wrist again. That was so different, not being in control of what was touching her there…

He circled her clit, spreading her wetness around. “You going to be my good girl now?” Negan asked haughtily. “You’re so wet. You gonna let me give you what you want?”

Jac wanted to say yes. She did. Only… she didn’t just as much. She wanted to defy him just a little more. Jac shoved his hand away from her, and his hand cracked against her ass again. She lowered her hips away from the pain only for him to pull her back up against him. She was sitting between his legs now, his legs lightly bent at the knee. “N-Negan…” Jac whined as he tried to part her legs this way.

Negan grinned and bit down on her shoulder until she cried out. He clicked his tongue at her scoldingly before saying, “What happened to calling me Sir?”

“Y-yes Sssir,” Jac whimpered as he let go of her knees.

“Put your legs over mine,” Negan demanded harshly. When she didn’t immediately do what he wanted he nipped at her ear insisting, “Do it, or I’ll take you over my knee and make you wait till morning.”

Jac shook her head, not wanting to wait. She shifted her hips and spread her legs, putting them over his. She felt very vulnerable like this. It made it even more clear that Negan was fully clothed, and she was very naked. Then his hands snaked down her body. One rubbed the inside of one of her thighs, the other swirled around her clit. Her head tilted back against his shoulder, her voice all caught up in her throat.

“Oh Sugar, you don’t gotta be so fucking quiet,” Negan told her as he licked her cheek and rubbed his finger over her clit, making her buck against him. “So fucking pretty, bet you sound pretty too. No one’s gonna catch us.”

A short little gasp of a moan left her, but Negan didn’t seem to think that was enough. His other hand dipped between her legs, slowly running over her entrance. She didn’t know what to do with her hands, except to grab at his forearms. Not to stop him, just to have something to hold on to.

“You’re my good little girl,” Negan huffed against her temple. “I can’t wait to have more of you.” He slid a finger in her, pumping in and out of her after a moment. When her hips started to roll against his hand Negan slowly added a second finger. “Fuck you’re tight.”

Jac wanted to close her legs again, but it was hard to command her body. All her hips seemed to want to do was buck against his fingers. The fingers playing with her clit started to become more and more rough, and she cried out only for her hands to shoot up and cover her mouth, her eyes snapped shut too.

“Fuck, Sugar, little more?” Negan asked biting at her jaw. When she nodded he grinned, telling her, “I love playing with your pussy! You’re fucking twitching you’re so responsive. You’re just so wet. I bet I could slide my dick right in you.”

Jac felt like his voice was wrapping around her as he continued. Her back arched, and she couldn’t really tell what Negan was saying to her. Just that it was dirty, and he was whispering right against her ear. His fingers crooked inside her as he continued to work her. She whimpered behind her hands as her hips thrashed, her thighs shaking. It was getting to be too much and she shook her head. She didn’t know how he was making her feel like this.

Negan noticed her reaction and growled against her cheek, “Do you need to use your words?”

Doubling over Jac grabbed his wrists, worried he’d stop. “D-d-don’t ssst-top…” She keened, pressing harder against his hands.

“Let go of me Little Girl,” Negan demanded as he paused only to smack the inside of her thigh when she tried to close her legs. Only he went right back to rubbing her. He knew he couldn’t let her calm down. She arched back against him again and she wrapped her arms around herself instead. “You going to cum for me?” She cried out, but he knew she wasn’t there yet. He knew what to try, “You are, you’re going to cum for me, because you like the way I’m finger fucking you. You’re my naughty little girl, liking it when I spank you. Liking when I’m rough! You _are_ going to fucking cum for me!”

Jac shook her head shoving at him, she couldn’t handle this. It felt like it was going to have to hurt soon. She couldn’t help the way she was moving, or the way she was letting out these little cries.

“Fucking naughty,” Negan moaned as he thrusted his own hips against her lower back. She was making him hard as a rock. “Fine, I’ll make you!” Then he pinched her clit, and that’s when she shook, her walls spasming around his fingers. He could see the silent cry trying to escape her lips, her body arching more against his.

Negan kept rubbing, and pumping her as stars burst in her vision, and she lost track of her body. He didn’t stop until she melted back against him. He slowly removed his hands from her, and Jac whimpered, struggling, but succeeding in getting her legs off of his and closed.

“Fuckity, fuck, you are beautiful when you cum,” Negan insisted, pride ringing in his tone as she leaned up and nuzzled at his jaw. He pet at her hair, and kissed her forehead, only to jolt when he felt her hands at his belts. “Woah, woah, I can take care of that in a minute Sugar,” he tried to tell her.

“Please, t-tell me what t-to do…” Jac mumbled as she kneeled between his legs, looking at him.

Negan watched her for a long moment before he helped her undo his belts, and his pants. He shooed her from between his legs so he could shove his pants off. No sooner than he’d done that she was pushing and shoving at his shirt too. When he was just as naked as her he waited as she looked him over.

Jac’s fingers lightly traced along his arm as she took in his broad chest and the skull tattooed there, and the dark hair that curled there. It trailed down to his stomach and she barely got that far before she was distracted by his manhood.

Negan caught her chin when he saw her eyes widen, and asked, “Alright sweet stuff, you want to use your hands or mouth?”

“H-hands,” Jac insisted, unsure how he was going to fit in any other part of her body. He was larger than life even naked, where she just felt that much smaller without her clothes.

Negan took her hands helping her back between his legs. “It’s okay. Just touching tonight,” he told her as he leaned up to kiss her.

oOo

The rest of the week went by fairly quiet. There weren’t anymore fights in the commissary at least. A couple of times Negan’s hand would find its way inside her pants. Usually at night, but once in his office in the middle of the day. She’d known something was up when he asked her to sit with him. She’d liked it all though, and Negan would let her touch him… in his office she’d been between his legs, and when she darted her tongue out to lick him… he must not have been expecting it. He never pushed her for more than touching though.

Right now he was in a meeting, and she was jotting down anything important that was actually said. She sat next to Negan, one leg tucked under her on the chair. Simon was on her other side. Really the meetings were always a lot of cursing, and some sex talk, and she always had to filter through it for the things Negan would need to remember later. He didn’t need to know that a girl in the laundry let Gavin stick it in her butt. He did need to remember that the laundry workers were going to need the dryers maintenanced, since in two months or so it’d be too cold to hang the clothes outside or otherwise.

He never talked about her though. When the men talked about their conquests he never said anything about what they did. She was secretly pleased with him because of that. Though he had given her a rather dirty wink when one of the men mentioned basically humping his girl when they were too hot to get their clothes off.

“Alright, now about that shit at the beginning of the week? Any more civil unrest?” Negan asked, getting down to more business. He’d noticed Jac start to draw spirals along the top of the page. A surefire sign she was bored out of her mind.

“I haven’t noticed any more than usual,” Timmy shrugged.

“Yeah that’s because everyone already bitches about you except your little dick brigade,” Negan laughed running his hand over his face. “Joey, you’re running around with more of the masses, how do things seem.”

“I don’t know boss, a lot of people are quieter around me. Same with the other people guarding the doors, or checkpoints,” Joey shrugged from further down the table. Negan had become more and more civil towards him, he suspected because of Jac who was still left in his charge from time to time. At least now he knew who to keep her away from.

Negan frowned, “Quieter how? Just not up to chatting, or all the chatting stops when you guys come in the room.”

“The… second one,” Joey tried to break it lightly.

Negan scowled. “Some shits are up to fucking something… I want everyone keeping an eye out.”

Jac kept her head down as she wrote this information down. She didn’t want to say it. She couldn’t in front of _all_ of the saviors, but she was worried it was her father’s doing. It was something that he didn’t try to take down Eli… maybe Eli was in on it… Who was she kidding her father was going to let Eli do the hard work and then he’d take it all from Eli…

She was going to have to tell Negan. Frowning she looked over at Negan, but he was already looking at her closely. He knew. She just didn’t know what he was going to do with this information that he knew.

“Everyone especially keep an eye on those new fuckers,” Negan growled before he slammed his hand down on the table and stood up. Jac scrambled to follow after him as everyone else stretched and got up at a much more relaxed pace. Simon did follow closely behind her. They were going to have to be the ones to do something. Jack didn’t know how she was going to be able to help, but she needed to figure it out.


	12. Who Is This About?

“We could just line ‘em up, and knock ‘em down,” Simon suggested as they stood in Negan’s office. “Put them in their place and show everyone who’s boss.”

“The people will think we feel threatened by these fuckers. The time to take them down would have been when they first got here. Then we could have made it about the rules.” Negan sighed as Jac stood against the wall next to the door. “We’re going to have to put the leaders of this little uprising down quietly, and then round up anyone who thinks they can do the job on their own.”

“S-so you guys kn-know i-i-it’s…” Jac tried to get out what she wanted to say, but she couldn’t make herself say it.

“Those scumbags who made your life hell? Yeah Sweetheart we’ve figured it out,” Simon nodded.

“They showed up and now they’re fucking with the new world order,” Negan seethed as he walked over to his desk to sit in his chair. “Maybe they can be sent on a run with a few loyal men. They just don’t come back. What is anyone in league with them going to do? Pitch a fuss because we took down the leaders of an uprising we weren’t supposed to know about?”

Jac listened as Simon and Negan tried to hash out a couple of plans. Maybe it was because her father and Eli had been keeping her down for so long, but it didn’t sound like any of this was going to work. If they never went on runs before her father would definitely be suspicious to be able to go on one now. There was a chance that he and Eli would come back, and the others wouldn’t…

“Frame them for stealing?” Simon offered when they ruled out that plan too.

“No, there’d be too many that might believe they were innocent. People they haven’t fully swayed thinking we’re being unjust,” Negan shot down the idea as he watched Jac squirm against the wall. “They’d just have more people in their corner. Thieves don’t die, they work off their debt on the fence team. We can’t change the rules just for this.”

Simon walked over and sat in one of the chairs facing the desk with a long sigh. “We could just wait for it to happen. It’s not ideal, but when we win we string ‘em up on the fence.”

“That might be what we have to do,” Negan breathed, even as he caught Jac’s eye. He knew what she wanted to say. He could read it on her face like she was screaming it at him.

_“What if we don’t win?”_

oOo

Negan froze mid stride when he heard a gasp behind him. When he spun around though he found Jac crouched down in front of a cat with the biggest smile on her face as it let her scratch behind it’s ears. He shook his head in amusement before he realized just which black and white cat this must be. “This the little fucker you named after me?” Negan asked as he ventured closer.

“Yes!” Jac insisted as Negan-Cat nipped at her fingers before letting her go back to petting him. “He’s the b-b-est.”

“It’s biting you,” Negan said as he rose a brow at her when the cat grabbed her hand with its paws to bite at her fingers some more. He wasn’t sure about the creature she’d taken such a shine to.

“Ssso d-d-o you,” Jac said giving the man a cheeky grin.

“Only when I’m feeling frisky,” Negan grinned back at her as she stood all the way up. The cat rubbing against her legs. She spared the cat one more pet, before she walked away and the cat wandered off along the wall. When she got to him Negan caught her hand with his bringing it up to his mouth to nip at her fingers himself. The mechanics down at the garage could wait…

oOo

“Ah, don’t you fucking dare bite my jacket! You hear me?” Negan growled, pinching Jac’s clit when he heard her keen. This earned him a harsh gasp, but with her always trying to be silent when he was touching her, the little demon had resorted to biting down, usually on herself. However, with him holding her hands hostage there wasn’t much in reach. Her head tilted back, her eyes clamped shut. He leaned his head back a bit just to see the look on her face. He did it again, asking roughly, “I’m sorry what was that?”

Jac looked up at him pleadingly, but when he started to pull his hand out of her pants she whimpered, “Y-yes Sir.”

“Good girl,” He huffed against the side of her mouth before he bit lightly at her jaw. Then his fingers went back to rubbing her as he asked, “You want me to take them off?”

Jac’s hips rocked against his fingers, and she tugged a bit at her wrists, but he held tighter. “Please…” she moaned softly.

“Please what?” He teased pulling his hand from her pants to suck his fingers clean. She blushed at him again and he posed some suggestions, “You want me to put my fingers in your pussy? You want me to pinch your clit again? Take you over my knee? Please what?” When she paused looking up at him he knew she was thinking of much more than him pushing her pants from her hips. “Fuck,” Negan groaned pushing his forehead to her temple, “You tell me what you want me to do to you, and you remember to call me Sir or I’ll take you over my knee first anyway.” She was still new to this, or he wouldn’t remind her.

“I… Can you…please t-take my clothes off, a-and touch me how you want? ...Please Sir?” Jac breathed out, wanting him to do more to her.

“Damn if that wasn’t as pretty as I pleased!” Negan moaned pressing his hips against the side of hers. “Bed.” He let go of her and she moved over to the bed to sit on the edge. Negan pulled her shirt up and off her. “What do you gotta say to make me stop?” He asked as he unhooked her bra and took that from her too.

“Red…” Jac said as she leaned back and lifted her hips for him to pull away her pants and underwear at the same time. “Because sometimes stop means keep going.”

“Good girl,” Negan praised her as he put his weight on his hands, which sat on either side of her hips. Jac had a penchant not for yelling at him to stop, but for shaking her head at him when she got overwhelmed. She’d still be riding his hand though. He’d remind her and ask if she needed to _use her words_ , but she hadn’t yet. He stood up and shucked out of his jacket throwing it on the chair. “Now we’re going to try something new.”

Jac frowned a bit as she watched him walk up to the head of the bed and moved the pillows up against the headboard before he climbed on and sat back against them in the middle of the bed. She looked at him from over her shoulder. Negan was still only sans jacket, hell he was still wearing his boots.

“Come ‘ere,” Negan told her, but when she went to stand up he clicked his tongue, “Hands and knees Baby.” She crawled to him like he wanted and he coaxed her into straddle his leg. “Now I want you to rub yourself against my leg.”

“Y-you want me t-t-to dry hump your leg?!” Jac asked in surprise, her hands on his shoulders so she wouldn’t try to cover up.

“See I didn’t know if you’d know what that was,” Negan teased as he undid his belts and unbuttoned his jeans. When she didn’t move he shoved his hand down his own pants, gripping himself. “As it stands I want you to hump my leg like you never learned any social graces, and I promise there will be nothing dry about this.”

“I…I…” Jac tried to say she didn’t know if she could do this, but Negan started to move his hand inside his pants.

“Sugar, move,” Negan grunted as he lazily played with himself. He wanted to be able to concentrate on her little body. “The jeans will give ya better friction.”

Jac experimentally rocked her hips against him, shifted, tried again, and that time let out a gasp. Her hands moved down to brace against his chest instead after that. The material of his jeans was rough, and her hips moved almost on their own. Negan’s free hand steadied her.

“Damn,” Negan huffed, “Good girl… fuck.”

Jac slowed her movements a bit, before her hips jerked faster on their own. She whimpered, having a hard time finding a pace. She looked at Negan pleadingly as he watched her heatedly. His eyes were on her breasts, then her hips, but when they came up to her face he gave her an encouraging grin.

Negan loved how her body was trying to fight her brain and just rub up against him. He loved how her hips shuddered, and her breasts bounced. He could watch her all day and get off on it too. When he caught her eyes though, and his mind reached passed the haze of watching her, he realized she was looking at him pleadingly. “Say it,” He growled pulling his hand from his pants.

“P-please Sir… H-help!” She whimpered pressing a kiss to his jaw. When he didn’t do anything right away she keened softly, but desperately, “Pl-please! Sir! Please!”

“Heh,” Negan grinned, “I love when you beg!” He put both his hands on her hips and started moving her, “Turn around… good girl… let me lead.” He led her hips, moving her at a steady rhythm. “Lean forward. That’s my girl.”

Jac was kind of horrified that she could see the wet spot on the leg of his jeans when she put her hands on the bed to steady herself, but Negan went and moaned, “Fuck you’re so wet for me!” There was no way that could be a bad thing when he said it like that.

Her hips fought against his hands, but he kept her moving. Then she whimpered, her shoulders hunched a bit, and he knew she was close. “Keep moving Jac, just like that.” He ordered, groaning at the little noises she was making for him. Little moans, and keens, desperately fighting to be heard. “Soon I’m gonna get you to ride me just like this. Get you to cum all over my cock.” One of his hands left her hip to pump his dick as he spoke. He didn’t want to handle just watching her, he wanted to come too.

Jac gasped as she moved the way he wanted, and his hand rested on her lower back gently urging her to move. He always talked a lot when he was about to come, and his voice wrapped around her making her feel hazy.

“Come on sweet girl, you gonna cum for me?” Negan asked swatting her hip.

Jac couldn’t answer passed a soft cry as she did just that. Her voice all caught up in her throat, her arms shaking too badly to keep her up, and her eyes clenched shut.

Negan admired the way her orgasm shook her. He liked how her arms gave way, and she shivered against his leg. He especially loved the keening whine that left her, as she pressed her forehead to his shin, it sounded suspiciously like his name. Not to mention the new position gave him the best view of her dripping pussy, and he collected some of the wetness there, cupping her before he used that hand to start jerking off in earnest.

Just managing to lift herself a bit Jac peeked over her shoulder to find Negan’s eyes locked on her. When she tried to move further though he practically snarled, “Stay right there. Keep your ass up.”

Jac lowered her shoulders just a little more, arching her back more to lift her hips. She wasn’t sure how to describe the way it felt to have him look at her like this. It felt like she was trapped there, but in the best possible way.

“You just fucking wait, right there,” Negan huffed, the want to just stare at her winning over the other possibilities. “Just you wait till we start fucking. I’m going to do you on every surface of this room. Then when we’ve done that I’m gonna fuck you in my office too.” There was something else he wanted. “Say my name.”

“N-Negan…” Jac breathed, moving a bit to see him better.

“Fuck! That’s pretty! Fuck, say it again!” Negan moaned shoving back against the pillows he was sitting against.

“Negan,” Jac moaned back lightly, seeing his head fall back, but his eyes still on her. When his hips bucked against his own hand she practically whined, “Ne-Negan!”

That’s what did it. His orgasm hit him hard, cumming against his stomach, hand, shirt, pants. “Damn Sugar…” Negan swore as he lifted his head back up to look at her fully. Her hips were wiggling a little, her head was back against his leg as she held onto him. “Oh, I know that needy little shake. You like seeing me cum?” She nodded, and he went to reach for her, but his walkie screeched to life.

_“Negan, we got a problem.”_

“God damn, motherfucking, cockblocking, sons of whores!” Negan hollered as he grabbed the back of Jac’s neck when she sat up. Keeping her on him. “Don’t you get off this bed,” Negan warned her as he moved her carefully off of him. Once he got to his walkie he snapped, “What the hell is it now?!”

_“Some of your wives are down here causing a scene…”_

“Some of? What kind of fucking scene?!” Negan yelled over the walkie as he turned to see Jac sitting right on the edge of the bed looking at him. “You know what, fuck no, I don’t even want to know. I’ll be down in a minute.”

oOo

Jac followed after Negan once they were cleaned up, and downstairs on the main floor. It’d been fast and Jac had to struggle to keep up. It was immediately noticeable what kind of scene was being made. There was basically a rave being thrown in the middle of the floor and there was more than one scantily clad wife dancing with men who were definitely not Negan. While Negan hadn’t fussed about Amber attempting to sneak around with Mark in his absence Jac kind of figured this wasn’t going to fly. Amber, Tanya, and Lily were right in the fray. Looking around Jac found Frankie walking towards them in her standard issue black dress.

“This is a mess,” Frankie huffed as she stopped in front of Negan. He’d not been noticed yet over the party and noise and no one was kneeling yet. “Me and Viviane were enjoying our down time, and Amber was admittedly running around on you, but this is ridiculous. Why didn’t you just fire us, or divorce us, or whatever you care to call it?”

“I am fucking aware Frankie of what is going on, and what I should have done about it,” Negan snarled before he smacked Lucille against the railing. Once. Twice. Third time was the charm; the music cut off quickly and everyone dropped to a knee if they weren’t already kneeling. “Well! Well! Fucking well!” Negan shouted as he turned to the crowd. “Someone has gone and started the party without me!” He paused, pinched the bridge of his nose before announcing, “I would like a word with my wives in the parlor, the rest of you fuckers though, **_Get. Back. To. Work._** ”

The majority scattered. The three wives were left. Some brave, or stupid, souls lingered around the edges of the room. Jac thought about slinking off to where she could see Joey making his way up the stairs, but Negan snagged the back of her neck huffing, “Oh, fucking, no you don’t. You are a part of this. You don’t get to slink off to play cards with Fat Joey and the boys.”

Jac wanted so badly to remind him that she hadn’t want to do anything with him while he had wives. This was why. Women were vindictive. She had tried to suggest he give her a room to at least pretend to use, but every night he’d brought her to his room to share his bed. She knew Lily hated her when the woman walked into the hallway to see Negan pull her into his room… Jac couldn’t get anything out though.

“Remember Negan, she’s your last chance.” Frankie said as the other wives started to trudge towards the lift. None of them daring to brave walking up the stairs with Negan.

“I have been treating her really fucking well,” Negan snapped lowly so the loiters wouldn’t hear. “As you’ve said, you’ve had plenty of down time.”

“Ne…” Jac started, but when Frankie looked at her it felt like her throat closed.

Negan went from having his hand on the back of her neck to having his arm hooked around her neck, hiding her against his side in the space of Jac losing her voice. “I’m going to deal with it now.” Negan insisted before he led Jac away, Frankie following behind them.

oOo

“What do you mean we’re not your wives anymore!” Lily screeched her hands on her hips. She was only wearing a black skirt and a bra, and Jac couldn’t see how this was the thing to still be wearing. The other two that had been downstairs had slipped into their standard dresses while they’d walked up the steps.

“Well, Doll, Amber is cheating on me and she should be grateful that Mark’s face is still pretty, Tanya never wanted to be at the sanctuary in the first place, Viviane you’re a peach, but we were both using each other,” Negan explained only pausing when Viviane smiled at him.

“It was rather nice while it lasted,” Viviane insisted raising the glass of wine she held.

“Now that’s the fucking spirit. The second Frankie sensed I wasn’t feeling this she asked for severance pay, so I assume there’s no love lost there.” Negan looked to the red head to find her waving her hand dismissively. “See. Then there’s you. Doll, you’re only butt hurt because you hit the end of easy street. Lucky for you I’m going to set you all up well enough that you won’t even have to work hard, and you’ll still be golden for years to come. There are plenty of other saviors that can set you up like a fucking princess, and you probably won’t have to share your man, and you’ll only have to share a room with them.”

“All because you’re trying to get some virgin pussy,” Lily sneered.

“Do you really think I’d be going through all this shit, so I could bone her just that one damn time?” Negan asked as he threw his hands in the air. “I know girls are all hung up on their first time, but if it was just that, it’s not fucking worth this fuckery I’m currently dealing with right now. Jac’s pussy is fucking fantastic,” he glanced to find her face positively pink, and motioned towards her, “and that blush she’s got there is endearing as hell, but I could have been getting blowjobs a couple times a day, having sex all over the place, maybe we could have had another god damn orgy. This is not just about popping her cherry.”

Only Lily seemed even more enraged by that.

“Lily, let it go,” Frankie cut in before the other woman could say something. Not that it really stopped her.

“No! Why should he get to be happy?!” Lily screamed, stomping her foot.

“It’s not about me being happy!” Negan growled taking a menacing step forward.

Jac watched the other women’s faces go slack. She looked up at Negan to find him looking like he was just bottled rage. Her eyes darted over to Lily who was obviously having the hardest time figuring out what he meant, before she looked at the others as understanding dawned on them. All their eyes flicked over to her. Even Jac knew he meant it was about her. She tried to tell herself no, that she shouldn’t get her hopes up, but when she reached out and touched his arm he pulled her against him.

“You all have a week to set up somewhere else to live, whether you go down and get a space in the housing, waste your points on a room, or you find someone to bunk with. If you aren’t sick of each other two or three of you could go in on a room together.” Negan told them before he turned himself and Jac around and led them out of the room.

oOo

Negan had his hand on the back of Jac’s neck as he led her into his office. Once he closed the door he pulled her back against him, his arms banded around her. She tried to turn around to look up at him, but he wasn’t having it. He leaned his lips down to her ear muttering, “When this all goes to shit Sugar, we’re bailing out.”

“B-but Negan… Y-y-ou love th-is p-place…” Jac insisted as she tried to see him.

“This place is my fucking baby,” Negan snarled as he leaned his forehead on the back of her head. “But I’m not going down with this fucking ship and damn it, neither are you. If this was some outside force, I’d fight knowing that I had the full force of the sanctuary behind me, but it’s not. We are not going to be the victims of some fucking revolution though.”

Jac rubbed at Negan’s arms while he held onto her. She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want Negan to give up his home, but she didn’t want him to be foolhardy enough to try and fight it out if it became too dangerous. “I…. I’m sorry,” Jac whispered.

“What, are you sorry for being shoved in a trunk?” Negan huffed as he pulled her back enough so they were leaning against the wall next to the door. “This isn’t anything you did.”

“I-I’m sstill s-orry this is h-happening…” Jac said as he finally let her turn around to hug him. He snorted somewhere above her as one of his hands came up to pet her hair.

“You’re too fucking sweet little girl,” Negan sighed as he smiled crookedly down at the top of her head.


	13. I Got You

“No way, I’m not betting with you again!” Joey laughed as he led Jac down to lunch that day. “You picked out a whole story line last time, and then some!”

“I t-told ya th-that you could borrow them, or trade with me,” Jac laughed back as she walked along side Joey. She was surprised that Negan had sent her ahead of him. The last two days had been tense. All the Saviors had been keeping an extra close eye on everyone. A couple of fights had broken out. Some people just left. None of the workers would really even look her. It was even more concerning then when they would stare at her.

Ruffling her hair Joey snorted a bit saying, “Yeah I’ll just stop by the boss’ room and we can play video games, read comics, and drink Mountain Dew.”

“Ne-gan would love it,” Jac snickered as Joey looked at her rather horrified. Though, Jac knew that if Joey showed up at Negan’s door to play video games and swap comics he’d just fuck with Joey mercilessly. Jac wouldn’t subject him to it. If they wanted to do that kind of thing she’d just wait for Negan to get busy and ask him to hang out then. Joey didn’t have as many responsibilities as Simon and Arat. Still Negan didn’t mind Joey. “It’s fine… Neg-Negan llikes that you’re nice t-to me, but sscared of him.” Jac couldn’t help but lose control of her voice as she found Eli grinning at her from the lunch line.

“I think Negan tolerates me because of those things…” Joey trailed off as he found what Jac was looking at.

“I-I want N-Negan…” Jac insisted as she pulled at Joey’s sleeve.

“Yeah, alright,” Joey said as he quickly started following Jac back the way they came. They were barely back to the door when the Saviors' radios all screeched.

**“Good luck using your walkies bastards!”**

Jac looked back at Joey, only for a knife to slide out the front of his throat. The tip dripping blood down his shirt as his mouth worked wordlessly.

“Jac!”

She turned back around to find Arat running towards her. She ran to meet her as Joey slipped to the floor his hand leaving hers, but she’d just gotten Arat’s outstretched hand when someone started to drag her back by her shirt.

oOo

“Jac?! Hey Sugar, I got ya!” Negan insisted as he leaned over her in the SUV. His hands hovered over her, unsure where to start. She looked so small in his jacket. “Come on Jac, look at me. Simon! Where’s that fucking first aid kit?!”

“Do I need to stop?!” Arat asked from the drivers’ seat as she sped down the roads, taking any turns she came across. Wanting to get as far and if possible as lost as she could.

“Don’t stop the fucking car!” Negan roared as Simon produced the first aid kit they’d stashed in the glove compartment when they figured out this might all go to shit. He used an alcohol wipe to clean off his hands as best as he could before he turned back to Jac. Arat went over a speedbump as he was trying to assess the cut on Jac’s cheek, making him press too hard, and them jostle around, but Jac’s eyes opened. Her hands reached for him, her voice all caught up in her throat. “Hey, hey, I got you. You’re going to be fine Sugar. I even got that mangy cat for you. You hear him yelling? Saying, “Let me the fuck outta this box!” I swear I’m gonna need fucking stitches he gouged me good.”

“Yeah, we’re going to have to look at that for you,” Simon reminded him.

“I fucking know that,” Negan snarled as he shoved around onto the floor of the SUV to see Jac better. It wasn’t the most comfortable fit, but at least he could see her. He moved back to her cheek cleaning it off with another wipe. When a little pressure stopped the bleeding, he moved on. “Hey keep looking at me!” Her eyes struggled to focus on him, and he grabbed her hand shoving it against his cheek. He was relieved when her fingers played through his beard.

He unzipped his jacket from around her and had to keep himself together. The bruises that had been nearly healed were replaced with new dark ones blossoming up her side. Blood smeared across her belly from another cut along her ribs. What made him suck in a breath though, grabbing her hand against his cheek, were the burn marks. That fucker had put that cigar to her skin, three cigarette burns circled it right at the bottom of her sternum, right below her breasts.

“I tried Negan! I tried to stop them! They wanted her to scream, and she just wouldn’t make a sound!” Arat tried desperately to explain. Negan and Simon showed up just in time to stop them from doing more than beating or burning her.

Negan’s jaw clenched, but he could feel Jac prodding at his cheek then. He forced up a grin as he focused on her face, saying, “Cause you’re too badass to scream, yeah?” He felt just the smallest amount of relief when her lips twitched up, just a little. He couldn’t tell if she was all there with him, but she was reacting to him. She even reached up and tried to wipe away the blood dripping down from the cut above his eye. That was enough for now.

oOo

 

“She’s fucking tough,” Simon sighed as he walked back towards the front of the store with Negan. Negan put one of the spare outfits they’d packed on Jac, and they set her up in the back of the gas station they were hiding in. They’d bundled up some blankets, so she had something soft to sit back against, later they’d get changed themselves. Then they released Negan-Cat, sat out food for him, they even put a litterbox out on the other side of the store hoping the cat had been housetrained at one point. Jac wasn’t talking, and she was obviously in pain, but Simon felt like she was still holding it together. She’d been happy to see the black and white beast.

“Yeah…” Negan breathed as he shrugged his jacket back on. He watched as she pet the cat she named after him, before they walked over to the checkout counter where Arat was busily crossing out things on their map. The Sanctuary, the outposts, the Hilltop, the Kingdom, and even a town they slaughtered before Jac came to them all bore a red x warning them away.

“I miss GPS so fucking bad. Internet. Mapquest!” Arat complained as she tried to follow the roads to find out where they were. “This is going to take forever. Maybe if we find a highway while we’re driving…”

“We’re not leaving for a while… two or three days,” Negan muttered, Jac was the worst off, but they were all beat up to some degree, “maybe we can find the streets around here on the map, and figure it out without moving first. With any luck we can add to our supplies with the stores around here. We’re far enough away that no one will find us right away. We’ll move the car around and hide it in the carwash so no one can spot it from the road.”

“Maybe we can find a house… somewhere with a bed for Sweetheart back there,” Simon suggested as he let his fingers draw across the map. “I can’t imagine sleeping on the floor is going to do her much good.”

“We’ll make her as comfortable as we can tonight, we can check out the area tomorrow,” Negan insisted as he looked towards where they’d left her. Only to find the black and white cat sitting on top of one of the half shelves staring at what felt like just him. Maybe he was projecting his own feelings, but it looked like that cat thought he was shit. It didn’t help when the cat let out a yell of a meow before jumping back down to the ground where Jac would be.

“I can’t believe we’re toting around a cat,” Arat insisted as she rubbed at her face with an amused grin, until she grimaced when she touched her bruised cheek.

“I was catching it as a gift for her,” Negan sighed as he looked back down at the map, “So she could keep it in our room, and she could grab it if we needed to bail. In my apparently idealistic plan we were going to an outpost. Then I’d gather my army and take back our motherfucking home. I already had it… and it makes her happy. Can’t leave it behind now.” The other two nodded at his explanation.

“Are you sure they really got some of the outposts?” Simon asked as he turned around and hopped up onto the counter to sit. “That take over seemed like kind of a shit-show where they just happened to grab the right girl to piss off the boss.”

“We can’t take the chance that he got even one, and then what if that’s the one we show up at?” Arat said shaking her head. “The four of us can’t take on a whole outpost that knows we’re coming. Even if we snuck in I doubt they’re going to just be chatting about what side their on in the halls.”

Frowning Negan looked at the map hoping for something to stand out, but when nothing did he told the others, “Let’s bring in the supplies we can’t afford to lose, and stay in the backroom tonight.” He just wanted to hold Jac. He wanted her to talk to him. “We’ll figure it the fuck out tomorrow.”

Simon frowned as he watched Negan for a moment, before he said, “Me and Arat got it, go sit with Sweetheart.”

“Yeah, go on,” Arat nodded as she started for the door.

Negan watched them walk out of the building before he walked around the side of the store to find Jac idly petting the cat when it would walk close enough to her. Trying not to worry over her further Negan said, “How about we call him NC for short? Weird calling a cat by my name.” Jac smiled a bit and nodded, but all Negan wanted was to hear her. They’d given her something for the pain, but he couldn’t be sure they were working for her if she wouldn’t tell him anything. Walking over he dropped down next to her, sending the cat away from them with a hiss. “Probably remembers I’m the one who put him in the cat carrier… then a box.”

Jac nodded again, trying not to laugh. She knew it’d hurt more. The pain pills were helping. It was manageable, but they weren’t anything to boast about. She didn’t know if that’s because she was in a hell of a lot of pain, or if the pills just weren’t that strong. She couldn’t ask though. Looking at Negan she knew he was worrying. He wouldn’t let her sleep in the car, and he’d made her promise not to sleep without him. It was just as well. She probably had a concussion. Her eyes followed his hand as it moved to lightly grip her thigh. Slowly she slid her hand over his.

“I’m sorry Jac.” Negan breathed as he looked at their hands. He should have kept her with him…

She didn’t know why, but that’s what did it. She was crying. It hurt so much to cry, but she couldn’t stop. The pain just made it worse. It hurt more, and so she cried more, and then Negan was moving her into his lap as carefully as he could.

“Shit, Baby Girl, I’m sorry,” Negan insisted as he rubbed her back softly with one hand, and the other passed his fingers over her head, careful of the bump he knew was at the back, “Stop crying. It’s okay. Fuck, you’re okay.”

Jac didn’t care if it hurt more she moved so she could hide her face against him. She felt like it was all her fault. If she wasn’t there maybe Negan would have been able to do something. Maybe he could have kept his home… Maybe if she’d just let him kill her father… Jac felt even more shameful knowing that Simon and Arat were probably waiting outside for them to have this moment.

“Talk to me,” Negan huffed at her as he curled forward to press his forehead to hers. “Just say something. Anything.” She took his face in her hands and kissed him quickly. A soft little peck. He could see it though. The heavy look in her teary eyes. She was sorry. “It’s not your fault.” Negan told her and kissed her back, just as short and soft. “None of this is your fault Jac. Just say something. Say my name.”

Jack slumped against him, her body too exhausted to stay tense enough to sit up. She weakly rubbed at the moister clinging to her eyes and cheeks first. Then after a moment she breathed, “Negan...” He relaxed back into the wall at that, and she didn’t understand how her talking could make him feel better. It did though, and she was thankful.

oOo

_“You know if you would just fucking scream, we’d give you a break!” Eli snarled around a cigar as he jerked her around onto her back. “Go on! Scream for your owner!”_

_Jac glared up at him as he blew smoke in her face. Somewhere in the room Arat was yelling. Eli’s frustration grew as she just stared at him. The men around them were goading him on, but Jac just glared. She could handle this… She didn’t have to scream. Maybe Negan could get away._

_Only then Eli started to tear at her shirt. When she started to fight back other hands started ripping it, and her bra away. Then he was in her face again, chuckling, “It’s okay, I’ll fuck you even when you’re scared up.” Her mouth opened but nothing came out._

_The pain…_

_There was so much pain._

_And all she could hear was laughter around the room._

_“Hey you boys got some cigarettes? Pretty sure she almost screamed. Let’s try again!” Eli snickered. Jac struggled more, trying to get away again. She didn’t know if she could handle it. She couldn’t scream._

_Then there was a man holding down each of her arms._

_“Hey, hey! Don’t mess up her tits!”_

_This time she was prepared for the searing pain, but it didn’t make it any easier to handle. She struggled and thrashed. The edges of her vision were fuzzy. She didn’t know what to do. She just wanted Negan. She wanted Negan._

_She wanted Negan!_

“Shit! Fuck! Jac! Jac look at me!” Negan yelled as he tried to keep her from thrashing too much. She wasn’t making any noise, but she was fighting like he was attacking her. “Jac you’re going to hurt yourself!”

Jac dragged in a ragged breath as she tried to fight against the arms around her. Only then it felt like her breath was knocked from her lungs when a hand pressed against her sternum. Her eyes flew open and Negan was swimming in her vision. She didn’t care how much it hurt she grabbed onto him, trying to pull him to her.

“Fuck, fuck!” Negan muttered as he petted her hair, and her face, leaning over her at her urging. “I didn’t mean it. I got you Sugar.”

“Negan…?” Arat called out as she turned on one of the flashlights they had.

“I got it Arat,” Negan insisted as Jac grabbed one of his hands and nuzzled against it.

Jac tried to steady her breathing. Tried to calm down. Her whole body hurt, and ached, and that was on top of the burning pain in her chest. Negan let her hold his hand, his fingers sliding from her mouth to her neck. She didn’t try to pry his fingers away, she just pressed her fingers over his as she started to calm down more

“Sweethearts having nightmares,” Simon sighed from his spot a few feet away. “She’ll be okay.”

When she stopped shaking against him Negan helped her around, so she could lean back against his chest. He kissed her temple as he rested his hands on her forearms. Her breathing was shallow and after a moment Negan caught NC moving across her legs before Arat turned out the light. It was just when he thought she was asleep that she breathed, quiet as a whisper, “I-I-I d-on’t rrremember what hap-pened after th-they burned me…”

Negan’s heart seemed to clench and swell at the same time. She didn’t remember. She didn’t remember what he did, couldn’t remember what she did. He didn’t know if Simon or Arat was awake but he jumped on it before they could think of opening their mouths if they were. “You don’t need to. You don’t need to fucking think about it ever again,” Negan insisted lowly. “I got you before they could do more than burn you.”

“Ne…” Jac tried.

“No.” Negan cut her off his lips to her ear. “I got you, and that’s all that fucking matters.”

It was at least an hour later, when Jac was asleep against his chest that Arat spoke. Her words soft, and prodding. “Are you scared she’ll remember you losing your shit, or that she’ll remember using Lucille on one of the guys who almost got the upper hand on you?”

“He doesn’t want her to remember any of it,” Simon cut in.

“Don’t you fuckers ever sleep?” Negan griped as he brushed his fingers through Jac’s hair.

“Which is it?” Arat asked as she stared up at the ceiling.

“Simon’s right, but I could live with her remembering me doing bad shit. She knows I’m a bad person. She’s seen it. She was so far gone… She doesn’t need to remember what she did,” Negan explained quietly. “Jac would just feel guilty.”

“That guy burned her and laughed about it,” Arat sneered, disgusted.

“It wouldn’t matter,” Simon offered for Negan. “Jac’s just that way, she’s too good of a person. It’s better she doesn’t remember. Maybe if one of us had gotten Eli… just so she’d know he was gone.”

“Maybe if one of us had put down her dad,” Negan added.

Arat was quiet a long time as she scrutinized her boss and the young girl he was protecting in his hold. Then she frowned up at the ceiling, and said, “You’re right, both of you. Jac doesn’t need to feel bad for that.”


	14. Foul Mouthed Family

Negan frowned as he helped Jac back into the main part of the gas station the next afternoon. It was obvious that she was stiff, and in pain. Still, every time he looked to see how she was doing Jac would smile at him the moment she noticed him looking. She was trying to reassure him. She was trying to reassure _him_. He pressed a kiss to her temple as he helped her sit down in the isle the others decided they having lunch in.  
  
Jac knew she’d slept in. The whole store was bright. When she woke she found she’d been given all the blankets. Two under her, one rolled up as her pillow and one laid over her. NC was perched right in front of her face, staring at her intently, when Negan had walked back in to find her awake.  
  
Simon and Arat were munching on some carrots when they sat down. Jac eyed the fair on two paper plates in front of them. Carrots, some cookies, and there were two water bottles, one for her and Negan and one for Simon and Arat. Sighing, she smiled ruefully at Negan asking, “You th-thought we’d g-go t-to an outpost?” She hadn’t gotten much out of Negan. Just that there were outposts and that they’d made some deals with other communities. Jac knew the deal was _give us your shit, and I won’t start bashing in skulls_ , or at least something to that effect.  
  
“Of course I did, Sugar,” Negan huffed as he grabbed a cookie and bit it nearly in half. They weren’t little either. “If I ever figure out which of the lieutenants decided to fuck me over I will fuck them up. I will chain them up to the gate _still alive_!”  
  
“We’re never going back boss…” Arat sighed as she shooed away the cat trying to sniff at their meager fare despite already being fed. “The Sanctuary is gone.”  
  
“You don’t think I fucking know that?” Negan growled lowly. “I’m still going to think about it though, in vivid fucking detail. How I’d kill ‘em. Fuck them up royally.”  
  
“Steal their food…” Arat mumbled whimsically.  
  
“We got enough food for today and tomorrow if we stretch it; enough water for five if we’re careful,” Simon offered with a shrug. “We’ll look for more. Hope for some rain.”  
  
Negan watched Jac for a moment before he realized she didn’t have anything, probably because she didn’t want to reach for it. Reaching himself he nabbed her a carrot and offered it to her. She smiled at him and accepted it, crunching into it immediately. “We’ll check around here first. Arat can stay with you this time.” Negan told her as he finished off the cookie and retrieved his own carrot.  
  
“I’m going t-t-to h-have t-to h-elp,” Jac insisted, with a disapproving frown. She didn’t want some free ride. Negan might not care, but Simon and Arat might start to resent her. She could pull her own weight! Just right now it’d be hard.  
  
“You couldn’t reach for your own food,” Negan insisted right back, before putting up his pointer finger in way of _wait a moment_ when she tried to cut in. “You’ll help in a couple days.”  
  
“We got it Jac,” Simon tried to assure her around his cookie.  
  
“Yeah Jac, let me hang out with you while they do the tedious shit, like checking stores,” Arat grinned at her, though Jac got the feeling she wasn’t keen on being left behind either. Even though a bruise had spread from her cheek to her temple in the night.  
  
Jac didn’t want to but she nodded breathing, “Alright… fine…”  
  
oOo  
  
“Aren’t you in pain?” Arat asked as she watched Jac pet NC who was perched precariously on the younger woman’s knee while they sat crisscross on the floor. Jac had been given a bottle of painkillers and Negan had told her to take them, but she hadn’t. They sat next to her still untouched.  
  
“Of c-c-course I’m in-n p-p-ain,” Jac said giving Arat a little smile that said _well duh_. She avoided saying something akin to it not being a new development, because she knew it upset people. She didn’t want Arat to really have to think about that.  
  
“Then shouldn’t you take that?” Arat asked motioning widely to the bottle of pills.  
  
“Nah… it’s nn-not un-unbearable,” Jac said with a shake of her head. After a moment Jac frowned and grabbed the bottle, making NC wander away from her, and held it towards Arat. “Do… Do you n-need it?” Her brows creased, and she needed to know. Just because Arat didn’t look as bad as she did didn’t mean that Arat shouldn’t be offered relief.  
  
Arat put her hands up waving them, saying quickly, “No, no, I had some Tylenol in my pack. That did just fine. I’m golden.” Her hands found their way to her lap, adding, “They hurt you so much… are you sure you don’t need that?”  
  
Jac nodded as she set the bottle back beside her. She didn’t want to waste it. Yes, everything hurt. She was uncomfortable, but she didn’t want to take it when she’d be okay. If she just waited the pain would fade. Maybe tonight when she needed to be able to sleep. She couldn’t sleep like this, but she could hold it together for everyone. If she couldn’t sleep Negan would notice. He’d realize how much pain she was in and force her anyway… He might still when he came back…  
  
Arat knew it too. “Negan’s gonna want you to take that,” she insisted as she pushed up onto her feet to take a look through the windows. They were laying low in the isles, but Arat still liked to be able to see that there wasn’t anyone out there. No one was around this time either.  
  
“I-I know…” Jac sighed. There was no way around it. She wouldn’t lie to Negan, and she wouldn’t ask Arat to. She’d just try to convince him later that she was fine.  
  
Jac stayed sitting as Arat kept watch. They stayed there a long time in a, more or less, comfortable silence before Arat asked, “Why didn’t you scream?”  
  
“They… w-wouldn’t have stopped even if I did,” Jac mumbled, “Screaming n-never saved anyone.” It didn’t save her when she was little. It just made it worse. It wouldn’t have saved her yesterday either.  
  
Arat frowned as she looked down at Jac. “That’s not the only reason.”  
  
“I wanted Negan t-t-o be safe…” Jac stammered out earnestly. It had worked out okay, but what if it hadn’t? What if someone had really hurt Negan? What if someone had killed him? She’d have been all alone.  
  
“I would have screamed… I wouldn’t have wanted to, but what they did to you was vicious,” Arat breathed, even though when she was finished she thought she might have said too much.  
  
Jac shrugged softly as Arat sat back down. “It… it hurt too much at th-the end… I c-ouldn’t. Nothing would come out.” When they had burned her she thought she’d scream, but nothing happened. Before Negan got her to say his name she didn’t know if she’d speak again. After that it’d been easier… well as easy as it ever was for her.  
  
oOo  
  
“We found some food at least, a couple of street names to check against the map,” Simon said when Arat asked them how things went. They’d found a store with a walker wandering around inside. Still they’d only come away with two plastic bags of stuff. “We’re going to have to look for a source of water…”  
  
Jac lost track of what they were talking about though because Negan was staring at her very intently. She tried not to look nervous, but her body was under enough stress already…  
  
“Why didn’t you take it?” Negan asked as he looked down at her and the untouched bottle beside her, doing his best to keep his voice down and not yell at her. “I know it’s gotta hurt.”  
  
“It’s j-just…wh-what if ss-some-one nnneeds it more l-later?” Jac insisted as she tried to slide away from him a bit.  
  
“What if some…one…” Negan started in utter disbelief as he knelt down over her legs to keep her from trying to get away. He couldn’t even finish the nonsense she’d just to serve him. “You need them now!” He growled out through gritted teeth, even as he pushed his forehead to hers. He could feel her hands on his arms, but she didn’t say anything. He leaned back just enough to see her face fully as he breathed quietly, “Jac, _please_ just take them.”  
  
Jac wanted to tell him no, but she wanted to give in. Her body hurt, but more than that she didn’t know how to deny Negan when he talked like that. He never talked like that before yesterday. After a moment she nodded, “Alright… I’ll t-take them.”  
  
Negan grabbed the water and the pills before he handed her the bottle of pills first. He watched as she inspected the bottle before taking out one pill. Then she popped the pill in her mouth setting the bottle aside to accept the water. Once she’d taken it Negan relaxed a bit and moved to sit next to her instead. “Just a couple days, then we’ll find somewhere better to stay.”  
  
“W-we c…”  
  
“We’re staying,” Negan cut her off. As his hand caught hers. He didn’t want her jostling around in the car, and he didn’t want her walking forever. They’d be just fine here. They hadn’t even seen more than a handful of walkers. He wasn’t going to let her talk him into rushing her.  
  
“You don’t have to be so harsh bossman!” Simon said his tone mockingly whiney. “She’s just worried she’s holding us back.”  
  
“Even though she’s not,” Arat cut in when she noticed Negan’s face scrunch up. “We’re not sure where to go anyway. We gotta figure it out. We have some street names, and we’ll find where we are exactly. Then we can plan from there.”  
  
Negan frowned as he gripped Jac’s hand harder. Only then she squirmed her hand away from him and grabbed his arm, hugging him to her. Then she rested her head on his shoulder. Negan sighed as he looked down at her. At least he didn’t have to worry about Simon and Arat taking advantage of Jac. She could hang on him. “Let’s find a house… something nice and big.”  
  
“Looking to retire?” Simon joked, even Arat laughed and Jac grinned.  
  
Negan smirked shaking his head. “Fuck no I want a nice big room, with a nice big bed, with a door that locks,” Negan explained winking down at Jac who was confused for just a moment before she was clearly embarrassed.  
  
“Guh, you’re worse than a teenager!” Arat complained with a shake of her head.  
  
“Well he’s gotta keep up with one!” Simon laughed even as Arat looked at them skeptically and Jac just hid her face against Negan’s arm.  
  
“Oh no Arat don’t you give me that look like you girls don’t have fucking stamina,” Negan chuckled in mock scolding. “Just wanna keep going and going.”  
  
Jac snorted a bit at that, and when Negan looked down at her she snipped, “Y-you’re the energizer b-bunny not me!”  
  
Then everyone devolved into giggles and laughter.  
  
 _~One Week Later~_  
  
“These places are kind of rinky-dink don’t you think?!” Negan insisted good naturedly as they walked down the street of a housing development they were looking through. They’d all been getting antsy in the gas station, and they were running low on food and water. Even if they didn’t stay here they were looting, and maybe spending the night.  
  
“There’s more places to go, this was just the closest!” Arat huffed as she walked out in front with Simon. She was pouring over their map still. It was not a small place. A maze of homes really, all tightly packed together.  
  
“I think this place is quaint!” Simon called back to Negan, checking over his shoulder to find Jac padding along between them, Negan trailing behind.  
  
“You would!” Negan huffed swinging Lucille in lazy circles. “We stay here, and I want my own damn house with Sugar! These houses are small as shit!”  
  
Jac snickered lightly as the bickering continued. It was just nice to be outside. Negan had kept her cooped up in the gas station the entire time. Some things still twinged, and ached, and her ribs still hurt when she moved too much, but she was fine. She was going to be just fine. Arat was letting her take the Tylenol now. She didn’t have to take that strong stuff. NC was in his carrier back in the car. They were absurdly enough looking for a house to live in. House hunting during the apocalypse. At least they didn’t have to worry about how they were going to pay for it.  
  
“We don’t have to stay in any of them!” Arat insisted grumpily as she looked at the houses around them. “Just pick one that looks good to loot. That last one was a bust.”  
  
“You’re just pissy because you picked that one!” Negan laughed as he lagged further behind taking a look at the older houses. He wondered if Jac liked them and just wasn’t saying anything because he was bitching.  
  
Jac turned to look at Negan only to notice him practically stopped in front of a white and blue house. She looked to where Arat and Simon were getting further away before she moved back to Negan. She took his hand with bit of a grin, only a little hesitant. She pulled him after her anyway though to bring them closer to Simon and Arat.  
  
Grinning Negan pulled Jac gently back to him and nuzzled at her hairline. He kissed her cheek as Simon and Arat oohed and awed dramatically from somewhere in front of them. When Jac peeked up at him through her lashes he put teeth into his grin and tapped his cheek so she’d know he wanted her to return the favor.  
  
Jac smiled up at him and stood on her toes a bit to give him a peck on the cheek despite Arat and Simon’s catcalling. It wasn’t like there was anyone else to see…  
  
oOo  
  
 _“That there is not a good man,” Daryl insisted quietly to Aaron, pointing at the man wearing a leather jacket, idly swinging a barbwire wrapped bat. They were watching a small group walk down the street. They’d seen the car they were driving. The group left it at the end of the street and were exploring the rather large, but old, housing community. There didn’t seem to be any walkers at first sight. It was only a matter of luck that they’d just stashed the car and motorcycle when they’d driven past._  
  
 _This development wasn’t anything half as nice as Alexandria, but perhaps it had its own appeal. “How can you be sure?” Aaron asked as he listened in on their conversation, “They seem like a family, foulmouthed but a family just the same.” Then the younger woman moved further from the other two back to the man in question, taking his hand. Seemingly to lead him closer to the others._  
  
 _Daryl frowned watching the bat wielder as he pulled the girl back and nuzzled at her. The two ahead of them seemed to be laughing._  
  
 _“That doesn’t look so bad,” Aaron said as he motioned at the sign of affection._  
  
 _“I stand by the fact that **that** is not a good man. Even if it’s a walker, it takes a certain kind of person to decide you’re gonna bash its brains in every time, and to play with his weapon like that.” Daryl explained as the girl kissed the man’s cheek when he tapped on it. “I’d bet my crossbow the only time he’s even a decent man is when he’s holding that little things hand.”_  
  
 _“Well let’s keep watching,” Aaron insisted lightly, “It doesn’t seem like he’s intent on letting go of her hand just this second.”_


	15. Doctoring Resumes of the Badass

Jac’s head snapped around when there was a knock on the door they were searching through. Negan instantly popped out of the kitchen while Simon and Arat were on the stairs instantly, guns in hand. She looked to Negan, at a loss for what to do. She was sitting in front of a window with the blinds open. When they walked up to the house they must have seen her while she was trying to get her second wind. When a walker came from around the corner of a house a few down she’d jerked and hurt herself. Negan hadn’t been impressed with her and told her to stay put once they’d gotten into the house through the back door, via knocking out the window.  
  
A knock sounded again before a male voice called into the house, “We would just like to talk! We… ah have some good news if you’ll just talk with us for a moment.”  
  
Jac’s head tilted off to the side as she stood up and moved a little closer to the door, only Negan was across the room in no time, “I doubt they’re fucking girl scouts toting cookies, Sugar.”  
  
“Look!” A much more gruff voice started up, “We know the little one is hurt, and we want to give you somewhere safe to take her!”  
  
Negan moved forward instantly, Lucille up on his shoulder as he swung the door open. He stood out of the way for a moment expecting that if shots were fired it’d be right away. He looked up at Simon and Arat on the stairs, but their weapons hesitantly lowered. Negan stepped in front of the doorway to see one man with light hair and a decent haircut standing with his hands up while the scruffier man next to him had his hands shoved in his pockets. His dark hair looked like it hadn’t been cut in years and he wore a leather cut. “How fucking long you been watching us?”  
  
“Since you parked back at the entrance really,” Aaron offered gently. “Normally we’d watch for much longer, but you seem to be in need. I’m Aaron by the way, and this is Daryl.”  
  
Negan eyed the men in front of him for a moment. Aaron seemed awfully clean. “You got a doctor in that backpack? What’s this fucking good news you’re yammering on about?”  
  
Aaron went to tell him, but the bat wielder became distracted when the young woman moved closer to the doorway. He instantly, but gently, urged her behind him, where she peeked around his shoulder. When Aaron was faced with the bearded man’s glare he continued hastily, “We have a community that has a doctor, it’s safe, with walls. We can show you, we have pictures, and we can take you there. We have food and water that we can share while we talk.”  
  
“To decide _if_ you want to take us with you?” Arat said as she came off the stairs with Simon.  
  
“We have questions you’ll need to answer.” Daryl insisted as his hands came from his pockets to hang by his side.  
  
Negan glanced back at Jac for a moment before he took her hand with a sigh and got out of the doorway, so the men could enter. “Fine, come in.” Negan led Jac back over to the couch urging her to sit down. He dropped down into the spot next to her setting Lucille against the couch near his legs. Then he put his arm snuggly around her as the others came to sit with them. Aaron and Daryl moved to stand before them, in front of what had been an impressive flat screen when it worked.

  
Aaron took a moment to set out a two jars with a spoon each, _“It’s applesauce we have apple trees,”_ a sandwich _“peanut butter,”_ and a granola bar still in it’s package. He also put out four water bottles before he offered, “Those are for you guys, even if you don’t come with us.”   
  
Arat grabbed a bottle of water and the sandwich in a Ziploc bag. Simon snagged one of the jars of applesauce, and a water. Negan looked at it all skeptically.  
  
“Thank you,” Jac mumbled when no one else spoke up. Negan grabbed her a jar of applesauce after he watched Simon start eating. He got a bottle of water for himself before he pet Jac’s hair.  
  
“Why don’t we start with names?” Aaron asked, friendly, slightly awkward. “Si, and Sugar isn’t much to go off of.”  
  
Everyone instantly looked to Negan first. Negan glanced around before he figured out he was first. More than that, he knew his name might get them in trouble. Last thing they wanted was for them to have heard about him. Since they didn’t know any of them, and they weren’t suspicious about Lucille it must have been a community they hadn’t found. Negan said the first thing that came to mind, “John.”  
  
“Arat.”  
  
“Simon.”  
  
“Jac…” She breathed after swallowing the spoonful in her mouth, realizing it was definitely her turn, and everyone’s eyes landed on her.  
  
When the men in front of them seemed perplexed Negan supplied, “It’s short for Jacqueline.”  
  
“Ah,” Aaron nodded while Daryl grunted some next to him. “How many walkers have you killed?”  
  
“A fucking lot,” Negan offered simply before Jac offered him the spoon, he tried some before humming his appreciation and giving it back to her.  
  
Arat thought for a moment, chewing thoughtfully on the sandwich before she said, “Somewhere in the ballpark of fifty.”  
  
“Less then him, more than her,” Simon said pointing first at Negan with his spoon then at Arat.  
  
Jac floundered as she tried to think about it, before she mumbled, “Maybe ten.”  
  
“Really?!” Simon asked, nearly choking on applesauce, as he leaned forward to see her. “I didn’t think it’d even be that high!”  
  
“Hey! Sugar is badass,” Negan laughed as he nuzzled the top of her head.  
  
Daryl knew his face softened, even if just for a moment, especially when Aaron grinned triumphantly at him. Stiffening back up he asked the next questions, “How many people have you killed, and why.” His gaze was sharp on “John” and he didn’t believe for a second that’s what his name was.  
  
Negan frowned deeply, “Ten, we were in a group and things went south. Five of those can be chalked right up to my defense and theirs while we were trying to get out during that fucking riot. One was trying to rape Jac before that. Three were going to turn anyway, and the first was someone who tried to attack me right in the beginning.” Simon and Arat would know there were more than that, Jac would suspect, but these fuckers didn’t need to know.  
  
“Five, if we’re counting people who were going to turn. two of those were self-defense while we were trying to get out.” Arat explained firmly since they were doctoring their resumes.  
  
“Seven,” Simon said stiffly, “Four were in our defense, one in my defense, two in defense of a group I was with before them.” When they were alone Negan would definitely rib him for lowballing it. He was still pissed about that one community.  
  
When eyes came back to her Jac shook her head, “None…” She was trying to do her best not to stutter. Doing her best not to say much. For some reason it felt weird to say none. Maybe because the people they’d killed, or at least the ones they were admitting to killing were in their defense.  
  
“How big was this group?” Daryl asked his eyes still narrowed on Negan.  
  
“More than a hundred people strong, in a factory,” Negan told him, knowing Daryl was going to be the one to decide if they got to go or not, “It provided safety and food in any case. You could work up the ranks if you could get on one of the leaders’ good side. A smaller group within the overall group tried to overthrow them though. It became a free-for-all, we were caught in the middle, so we got the fuck out of dodge.”  
  
“You’re awfully charismatic for a grunt,” Daryl sneered crossing his arms across his chest.  
  
“I never said I was just a fucking grunt, but they were already hurting my girl. I wasn’t keeping her there. That’s un-fucking-acceptable behavior. There were rules, rules I could live by! Rules any normal fucking society would have, and then there wasn’t. She’s just a little thing. Jac wasn’t staying there, I wasn’t keeping her there!” Negan only realized he was standing when Jac grabbed onto his sleeve, tugging to get his attention. When she patted the couch, her eyes cutting at him, scolding, he sat with a huff his arm looping back over her shoulders.  
  
Aaron frowned first at Daryl then at the group on the couch. He was sure that they should bring the group along. Daryl looked half convinced, and perhaps that was as good as it’d get. “Excuse us for one moment,” Aaron insisted as he moved him and Daryl towards the kitchen. Once they were probably out of earshot he whispered furiously, “I think we should bring them.”  
  
“I wonder if that girly knows she has a wolf on the end of a leash and not a house pet,” Daryl griped as he looked at the group on the couch also whispering furiously at each other.  
  
“He believes in rules, and guidelines,” Aaron insisted. “He’s obviously the leader of that group. They follow him, perhaps they’ll follow Diana. It’s obvious he’s not against using that bat on people, but if we can get him on our side. Have him help Rick and Michonne, or the men and women on the wall. He could protect us.”  
  
“He’d be protecting Jac, not us,” Daryl insisted right back.  
  
“If Jac is one of us, he’ll be helping the rest of the community by default,” Aaron said with a wave of his arms.  
  
Daryl let out a long sigh, it wouldn’t be right to leave that little thing out here.  
  
Back in the living room Jac was whispering as firmly as she could after she set down the applesauce, “You di-didn’t have t-to yell at them.”  
  
“You know you’ve fucked up when Sweetheart is scolding you,” Simon chuckled behind his hand and under his breath.  
  
“I will waste you,” Negan whispered lowly before he looked back at Jac. “Come on Sugar, they’re just random people who showed up at the door.”  
  
“Th-they’re checking t-to see if they can t-take us to their families,” Jac huffed up at him, crossing her arms over her chest before she sucked in a breath at the sudden pain coming from her chest.  
  
Negan sucked in a breath with her as he held her shoulders steady. When she pulled it back together he muttered, “Fine, I’ll be good.” After that is when Aaron and Daryl walked back into the room. Everyone regarded each other tensely before the tension broke when Aaron elbowed Daryl.  
  
“We’re going to take you to our community, but you even graze someone with that bat and I’ll shove it so far up your ass it’ll come out your mouth,” Daryl told them their decision, before he warned _John_.  
  
“Believe me, if someone hurts one of mine I’ll be sure to make your threat look like childs’ play.” Negan growled back his arm curling around Jac.  
  
oOo  
  
Negan let Simon take the wheel and he sat in the back with Jac. She was sitting, leaning against his shoulder the cat in the carrier next to her. It was starting to get dark when they rolled to a stop. “The hell?” Negan asked as Jac sat up straight out of his hold.  
  
“I don’t know, they stopped…” Simon insisted as he looked back at them.  
  
Negan grabbed up Lucille as they saw the car door open and Daryl get out. He opened his door with a simple, “Stay here.” He walked around to find Daryl talking to a dark skinned man in a long coat with a wooden staff of some kind. “What’s going on?”  
      
“He flagged us down…” Daryl told him distractedly looking at a map.  
  
Negan looked and it said on it SORRY, I WAS AN ASSHOLE COME TO WASHINGTON. THE NEW WORLD IS GOING TO NEED RICK GRIMES.  
  
“He’s coming with us, get back in your car.” Daryl scowled at him.  
  
“Oh! He doesn’t have to answer the questions?” Negan asked if only to be difficult, even as he walked away.  
  
“Fuck you!” Daryl called after him.  
  
“Only if you ask nicely!” Negan laughed before he got back in the SUV with his group. When he put his arm back around Jac he found her glaring up at him. “Whaat? I was just playing with him!” Negan insisted as he looked down at her, playing innocent.  
  
“Don’t p-play with h-him,” Jac said with a shake of her head. “He don’t w-wanna play wit you.”  
  
Arat chuckled insisting, “He sure as fuck don’t believe your name is John either.”  
  
“John,” Simon laughed as they got moving again, “What’s your last name Doe?”  
  
Negan frowned, before he shrugged and asked Jac, “What’s your last name?”  
  
“Thatcher?” Jac asked more than said. She didn’t quite understand why he was asking. What good was her last name going to do them?  
  
“There you go. John Thatcher.” Negan announced his new name proudly.  
  
“Wait then what’s Sweethearts last name?” Simon asked looking at him in the rearview.  
  
“Thatcher,” Negan shrugged clearly not concerned. He had his reasons, and he was sure the nosey fuckers in the front seat would demand to know them.  
  
“Wait is she supposed to be your daughter or your wife?” Arat asked as she turned in her seat to look at them. “You guys kissed outside, I’m pretty sure they saw that.”  
  
“Wife!” Negan insisted scrunching up his nose. “If they ask her maiden name Sugar can just say her mom’s maiden name.”  
  
“I think they’ll be more concerned as to why she agreed to marry your ass,” Arat said as she pointed between them. “You two are cute as hell, but you clearly don’t make a lick of sense.”  
  
Jac frowned up at Negan too, she didn’t get why they had to lie. Sure, don’t tell them his name in case anyone there ever learned about the saviors, but why did they suddenly have to be married?  
  
“If we’re married, and you seem into it they can’t try to take you from me,” Negan insisted as he laid his forehead to hers. “Not going to let these fuckers try to tell me that you have to sleep somewhere else. My fucking girl. If they ask, we met at the factory, and I took care of you, and we got hitched.”  
  
“Sounds like you made her marry you for protection,” Arat sniffed skeptically.  
  
“Die,” Negan said, deadpan, his eyes cutting to the woman in the front seat, before he looked back at Jac asking, “So, what do you think.”  
  
“They’re g-gonna th-think wh-what Arat said…” Jac sighed as she leaned into Negan, nuzzling at him. She knew he was trying to keep them together. She wouldn’t leave him, he wouldn’t let her, but she still wanted to stay.  
  
“Fine!” Negan let out exasperatedly, “So it was more a marriage of convenience, if you married me you got to sleep in my room where I could keep an eye on you. You agreed and now we really like sleeping together.”  
  
“In what context?” Simon snickered.  
  
“All of the above,” Negan laughed with him even as Jac blushed up at him. When he saw the warmth in her face Negan cupped her cheek saying, “You look just like that, and they’ll buy it.”  
  
“Cradle robber!” Arat teased through a laugh.  
  
“She’s all nice and legal,” Negan said as he kissed Jac’s forehead.  
  
“Barely!” Arat and Simon insisted as they laughed together.  
  
“Still mine,” Negan huffed as he gave her a soft kiss, that Jac leaned into.  
  
oOo  
  
When they got to Alexandria they parked with Aaron and Daryl as they were told by the person on guard that there was a meeting going on. They heard they guy tell Daryl “It’s about Rick…” Daryl and Morgan were off like that, and Aaron looked at them awkwardly before he said, “We better go with them.”  
  
They started after Daryl, but first Negan grabbed Jac’s hand whispering at her firmly, “You stay behind me.” When Jac nodded he started leading her after everyone else.  
  
With Negan holding her hand in his, Jac was free to look around as they went after the rest of the group. It was a housing development. The houses were huge, bigger than anything she’d ever lived in, and even in the dark they looked new and well kept. It was like the end never touched this place…  
  
At least not until they heard the gunshot and turned the corner. A lot of people were sitting around the fire, everyone as stunned as the them. Jac had a hard time seeing exactly what was happening, but the man closest to them had small bandages on his face some gore touched his clothes he looked like he belonged in the world as it was now. He held a gun, and had obviously just shot the man on the ground.  
  
Further back was a woman crying over a bloodied body…  
  
Jac wasn’t sure what this all was… but Negan shoved them back further. She could tell his knuckles were turning white as he held Lucille. Jac lightly touched his forearm, trying to keep him calm. “Ne…” Jac breathed so no one else would hear her as the man put his gun away. Negan looked down at her at that before he nudged her back behind him fully. “It’s j-just a bad night,” Jac spoke against his back.  
  
Negan kept his face blank, but he wormed his hand behind his back to grab Jac’s wrist. He was going to give this place a chance, but he wasn’t going to let anything happen to Jac.


	16. New Home

“Hi, I’m Maggie, I’m going to conduct your intake interviews. Normally Diana would do this, but ah, she… needs time…” Maggie explained to everyone sitting on the porch of the house. “Would anyone like to go first, or we can go alphabetically?”  
  
“Here Sugar,” Negan said as he handed Lucille to Jac, and stood from the bench on the porch. Simon took up his spot after he got out of the way. “I’ll go first.”  
  
“Alright,” Maggie said bringing up a smile. They’d handed over the guns in their possession, but kept their knives, and _“John”_ had insisted on keeping Lucille, the bat he named for whatever reason. At least the bat was staying outside. She led him into the house, and into the den, before she asked while walking over to the camera, “Do you mind if I record this? They… we record everyone’s interview.”  
  
“Sure, doll, you do whatever you like. I don’t mind putting on a show,” Negan said as he walked over and plopped right down into the chair the camera was pointed at. “This place always as fucking festive as it was last night.”  
  
“No,” Maggie grimaced at the nickname and the curse, “well… I’ve only just arrived myself not long ago, with my group. It’s my experience that this place is really quite tame,” Maggie explained as she settled onto the couch in front of him, making sure her head wasn’t in the camera’s view. “A little slice of before, they’re going to need help acclimating to what’s really out there.”  
  
Negan noticed the look he received, and sighed remembering Jac telling him not to play with Daryl, the same probably applied to this woman as well. “So, _Maggie_ , this place has been surviving on it’s good looks, and luck that it’s down some backroad no one knew about?”  
  
“Just about,” Maggie sighed before she shook her head, “This is supposed to be about you. How about you start with your name?”  
  
“John,” Negan grinned, “John Thatcher.”  
  
Maggie frowned, Negan thought she might fight him on the matter, but she didn’t. Instead she asked, “What is it you did before, _John_?”  
  
“I did a lot of shit before dead people started eating us,” Negan shrugged, “Construction when I was just out of my teens, sold used cars, fixed said cars, last thing I did before was teach phys. ed.”  
  
“You were a teacher?” Maggie sputtered a bit, Negan just laughed good naturedly.  
  
“You gotta show kids the way, otherwise those little assholes grow up to become great big ones!” Negan insisted as he stretched out in the chair more. “What about you?”  
  
“I worked on a farm my whole life, I was going to college right before the outbreak, but I stopped when it started getting bad,” Maggie explained. When he seemed satisfied she moved on to the things Daryl had told her. “I heard you were with a community before. That you met the other members of your group there, presumably.”  
  
“Yeah there was a big group in a factory. I was pretty high up the food chain, worked with Simon and Arat,” Negan explained the story they’d come up with last night. It was as close to the truth as they could get.  
  
“What about Jac, Jacqueline?” Maggie asked as she leaned forward, clasping her hands out over her knees, as she supported her arms on her legs.  
  
“Jac, she’s never gone by Jacqueline,” Negan insisted as he shifted so he was sitting up a little more. “She came around about two months ago. Little as can fucking be…” Arat insisted that two months sounded better than two weeks. He’d grudgingly agreed though he didn’t see the point. “She tried to keep her head down, but Jac stutters, and the more nervous she is the worse it gets.” He rubbed at his beard, once more remembering that it was getting out of control, as he looked the woman in front of him over. “I took her under my wing.”   
  
“You just looked out for her… out of the kindness of your heart?” Maggie asked skeptically.  
  
“Wouldn’t you?” Negan snarled, narrowing his eyes at Maggie. When she looked taken aback he pushed his hands through his hair before he went on, “Yes okay, I took notice of her because she’s fucking cute and sweet as sin, I don’t call her Sugar for nothing. Still if she had told me to fuck off I woulda given her space. If she told me she didn’t fucking want me now that we’re out of there, I’m sure you could put her up with someone else, huh?” Maggie nodded just the slightest bit. “I wouldn’t ever force myself on her, or anyone else. Rape is un-fucking-acceptable. Places like this, places like my home use to be, must have god damn rules. Sure, my bat isn’t just for fucking show, but neither are the weapons I saw the people guarding the gate with, I’m fucking sure the knife on your hip isn’t for show either.”  
  
Maggie sat back against the couch as she regarded the man before her. Daryl was probably right. They were lying about some things, but not how he viewed the world. “What is she to you now that you don’t have to protect her from the people around her?” Maggie asked. Daryl said that the younger girl had this man wrapped around her little finger. Only, they didn’t know how wrapped around his she was.  
  
“She’s my fucking wife,” Negan said as he gripped at the arms of the chair. “Mine.” He didn’t articulate it further, but Jac wouldn’t be taken from him.  
  
Maggie’s eyes widened. “ _Wife_? She’s… she’s so…”  
  
“Young,” Negan huffed, not letting up on the chair, “I’m aware she’s little, I needed to be able to watch out for her at night though. I was high up enough that I had a room, but Jac was on her own. She’s been handed the short end of the fucking stick her whole life. When she first got there I stopped someone from raping her. Before that her father was beating her! I wasn’t going to let people keep hurting her. Only way workers got to stay in a room is marrying up. I got her a cushier job, no one wanted Lucille shoved up their ass for messing with her, at least not until things started going to shit. We bailed when some fucking revolt started, but I didn’t get to her fast enough. They were just hurting her for sport too. There wasn’t anything she could have given them.”  
  
“Aaron said she was hurt… there’s uhm someone manning the infirmary… someone can look at her,” Maggie offered, though she was clearly unsure. She knew Rick had killed the actual doctor that had been taking care of this place. Surely there was someone else that could figure it out. She could look herself, but she’d just be putting a bandaid on anything that needed real help.  
  
“When she wants to,” Negan nodded. He didn’t want someone poking and prodding at her unless she was ready. She seemed to be healing alright on her own, but maybe they could give her something…  
  
“Alright. Tell me what sorts of things you did for your last community,” Maggie continued.  
  
Negan went on to tell her what some of his lieutenants did as opposed to how he ran the place…  
  
oOo  
  
Jac found herself going next after Negan somehow. She sat in the chair that Maggie motioned too and fidgeted with the hem of her shirt. She watched the red headed woman carefully. Jac thought she was pretty, but pretty didn’t mean that she made Jac less nervous about this.  
  
“John told me it’s difficult for you to talk,” Maggie said with an encouraging smile, “Just take your time… how about we start with your name, and some other things about yourself.”  
  
“Uh…I’m Jac… it’s sh-short for Jacqueline…” Jac said, trying to speak clearly as she could. She wished she’d been able to have Negan stay with her, or even just hold Lucille. “I’m eighteen…” When Maggie seemed to be patiently waiting Jac told her earnestly, “J-John is my husband…” Only that felt weird, not only because she had to use Negan’s fake name, but because of how Negan had pretty much collected wives before her. “Kind of… it’s complicated…”  
  
“Do you want to be with him?” Maggie asked worriedly.  
  
“Of course I do!” Jac insisted leaning forward more, only to rock back, embarrassed by herself. “It’s… the m-married part that’s… co-complicated, not being w-with him. I like being with him. I wouldn’t b-be here without h-him! H-he t-t-takes care of me! In his own li-little way he really c-c-ares… He even got-t me a c-cat… He gave up every…everything for me… He c-could have s-stayed and fought for his home… b-but he didn’t… and he doesn’t expect anything in return…”  
  
“He got you a cat?” Maggie’s head turned off to the side and she looked like Jac just told her that he could sprout wings. She’d known there was a cat now, but she didn’t know the circumstances the group had obtained the cat under.  
  
Jac nodded, with a huge grin. “The f-f-actory caught c-cats to get rid of rrats. He got me NC, he’s b-black and white, he’s kind of feral, b-but I th-think h-he use to h-have an owner.”  
  
“NC?” Maggie questioned.  
  
Jac swallowed thickly. She’d named NC after Negan… Only it suddenly hit her, “No comment…” She smiled nervously, put some teeth into the smile hoping it was enough to make it look like she just hoped it wasn’t cheesy.  
  
Maggie laughed behind her hand some. “That’s clever.”  
  
Jac tried not to sigh in relief. Instead she moved on, looking down at her hands in her lap. “A-at first I thought he j-just felt s-sorry for me, b-but I didn’t want to be a bur…burden. Then I thought maybe that he was t-teasing mme… Only he was serious about b-being with m-me. By then I liked him, and I was happy to be with… someone who cared about me…” Jac bit her lip, “He… he uh… slept around a lot before he t-ook me in… and I d-didn’t know how I felt about that… but he st-topped.” Jac rubbed the back of her neck before telling her, “I think… no… I know… he thinks I’m h-his last chance…”  
  
“For what?” Maggie asked as she leaned forward.  
  
“He thinks I’m his llast ch-chance to have someone love him… or even just care about him…” Jac explained looking up at Maggie sadly. “H-he’s a hard… hard pill t-t-o swallow sometimes, but he’s _nice_ to me…”  
  
“That doesn’t mean you have to be his wife…” Maggie told her softly.  
  
“I want to be with him…” Jac said, her voice breathy. “I-I _care_ about him… I want to sstay with him.”  
  
Maggie nodded at that, and then she explained, “We won’t separate you… Your whole group will be given a house to share together.” She looked at her own lap for a moment before she asked, “I suppose before the end you were a student?”  
  
“Yeah… I was j-just sssome k-kid…” Jac shrugged. “After, I was decent at scavenging, but I w-was mo-mostly j-just t-t-trying t-to stay out of the…way… I… I can… do whatever you nneed.”  
  
“You’ll all be given jobs, but I’ve got to talk with Diana. She’s the one who’s in charge here.” Maggie explained as she shifted around in her seat a bit. “But, well… you saw what happened last night…”  
  
oOo  
  
When Maggie walked her back outside Jac sighed as she found Negan winking at Daryl who was glaring at him from across the porch. When Negan found her, he let out a low whistle and seemed to be pretending he hadn’t done anything. Walking over to him Jac poked Negan in the ribs frowning up at him.  
  
Negan looked down at her from the corner of his eye before he laughed a bit saying, “Oh I was just having a bit of fun, it’s boring as fuck out here.”  
  
“Oh, Arat you go next, I wanna see Sweetheart scold him some more,” Simon laughed, though when Negan glared at him he popped up saying, “Nevermind, my turn.”  
  
Jac watched Simon saunter inside before she pulled on Negan’s hand to get him to sit down with her again. He wrapped an arm around her, his fingers playing with her hair as he watched her. She looked up at him, her chin resting on his chest. “Be nice,” Jac huffed up at him.  
  
“To you maybe,” Negan chuckled as he kissed her forehead before he relaxed more into the bench.  
  
oOo  
  
“This is going to be your house, there’s four bedrooms, but one is currently set up as an office. We can get another bed in here if you find you need it. You can always come find me, or go see Maggie and we’ll get someone on it,” Aaron explained as he walked them up the steps to their house. “The house was stocked with some rations, toiletries for the four of you, and we’re pretty sure someone lived here before you because there’s movies and stuff, but everything on the beds has been washed. The infirmary and the store house are clearly marked with a sign at the end of their driveways, but you can ask anyone outside if you find you need anything, and they’ll point you in the right direction.”  
  
Negan swung Lucille lazily as he followed along behind Aaron, Jac under his other arm as she carried her coveted not so little cat carrier. Simon and Arat followed, as well as Daryl. The scruffy redneck seemed to think he needed watching, but Negan just shrugged it off. Every time Jac gave him the least bit of affection Daryl would falter. Jac would have him wrapped around her little finger too in no time.  
  
“We had some people bring over the things in your car they’re in the garage, the litterbox is in the bathroom we passed on the way in here, and once you’re all settled you can explore Alexandria to your hearts content,” Aaron explained as he walked them into the living room. “We won’t be offended if it takes you a bit though. Pretty sure Daryl intended to live on his groups porch before he got his job.”  
  
“I slept inside,” Daryl grumbled as he watched the group look around. Jac set down the cat carrier, making the thing start to meow in a rather annoyed manner, and drifted away from Negan to look at the things on the walls. A huge dreamcatcher sat on the wall behind an overstuffed red sectional that was practically hidden under pillows and blankets. Black and white photos of landscapes and buildings littered the wall around the dreamcatcher. There were some paintings of butterflies.  
  
Arat and Simon inspected the solid wooden bookcases on either side of the TV on its own long wooden TV stand. Both held books on top, movies on the bottom. Negan watched his group, and the two showing them their space. “Hippies definitely lived here,” Negan laughed as Jac grinned back at him.  
  
“Old Hippies,” Simon laughed with him as he leaned this way and that to see more of the house from where they were. “It takes time to collect this much shit.”  
  
“I think it’s homey,” Arat hummed as she skimmed her fingers over an oversized brown armchair. Also covered in blankets. Jac hummed back in agreement.  
  
“Well, as long as the ladies are happy,” Negan chuckled as Jac came back over to him, ducking under his arm.  
  
“You weren’t getting another choice,” Daryl insisted sourly, crossing him arms over his chest.  
  
“Aw, you wouldn’t let me bunk with you?” Negan teased even as Jac tugged on his shirt disapprovingly.  
  
When Daryl seemed flustered Jac tried to tell him, “H-he j-just doesn’t know h-how to pl-ay nice.”  
  
“Hey! I’m very friendly!” Negan huffed, poking at her cheek.  
  
“I dun think th-that word means what you th-think it means,” Jac sighed up at him, it did get Daryl to snort in amusement. That made her grin, but Daryl just started to become confused.  
  
“I’m pretty sure that’s the best we’re getting out of Daryl for today, and with that, we’ll leave you all to it, the keys are on the kitchen table,” Aaron said as he started to usher the other man out.  
  
Once they were gone, the door shut, Jac ducked out of Negan’s reach and opened NC’s carrier. When everyone looked at the cat they all seemed to stop even as the beast scurried off into the house along the walls. Negan spoke up first, “Sugar, what did you tell them about the cat.”  
  
“You g-got him ffor me, his name NC, stands for No Comment,” Jac smiled at them quite proud of herself once more for not giving them away.  
  
“That’s the best,” Arat said clapping her hands some as the men burst out in relieved laughter. Only then she found Simon going to sit down and she snapped, “No! We will all be clean first! We’ll wash some of our clothes, shower, and then we can sit on the furniture!”  
  
Simon forced himself back up to standing at that asking, “What are we supposed to do until then?!”  
  
“You want to stink something up you go find your room and sit on your stuff!” Arat insisted pointing towards the stairs. “I don’t even care what room you take.”  
  
“Me and Sugar get the master!” Negan called out, pointing Lucille at him, as Simon slunk off to the stairs.  
  
“Only because there’s two of you!” Simon called back.  
  
Jac shifted her weight impatiently as she looked at the stairs. Arat laughed a bit saying, “I’ll go get the laundry started, you two go find your room.”  
  
When Jac looked up at him Negan chuckled and jutted his chin towards the stairs. “You heard her,” he said getting her to nearly bounce up the steps. He nodded at Arat before following Jac up stairs. He watched her look around the corner at the top of the stairs before she scampered off.  
  
Jac found Simon laying on the bed in the room on one side of the area at the top of the stairs before she peeked her head into another one. “This one!” Jac chirped back at Negan as he got up the stairs. She looked around the room in mild awe. The walls had distressed teal wallpaper on them with brown vine designs spaced out. The bed was on a wooden fourposter frame. There were gauzy curtains tied up. Cream and blue bedding… There was a chair in the corner of the room. A comfy looking armchair, that might have been the twin of the one downstairs…  
  
“You like it?” Negan asked as he set Lucille against the wall near the door.  
  
Jac nodded as she drank it all in. She liked it. She liked it a lot. It was more than she ever dared dream of.  
  
“Good,” Negan hummed as he wrapped his arms around her. He nuzzled her cheek with his. After he kissed her cheek and told her, “They have an infirmary… Someone can take a look at you.”  
  
“No… I’m okay,” Jac said slowly, hoping to sound sure of herself.  
  
“Are you really?” Negan asked with a frown.  
  
Jac nodded, “I’m going t-to be ffine.” Some things only hurt a little bit… some hurt a little more, but it wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle. She’d heal up fine.  
  
“If you change your mind I’ll take you,” Negan told her before he stood up straight and looked around the room. When his eyes caught the bathroom he shrugged out of his jacket, and grinned saying, “For right now let’s take a shower.” He moved away to shut the door to the room, hanging his jacket on the doorknob, before moving into the bathroom shooting her a wink.  
  
“Together?” Jac asked with a tilt of her head.  
  
“Fuck yeah together, it’s been too long since I got to see that little body of yours!” Negan said as he pulled his shirt off over his head.  
  
“It hasn’t even been two weeks?” Jac was confused, but she still followed after him watching as he dropped his shirt and inspected the shower. He moved the white curtain a bit to show it had a large tub, and a showerhead you could take down from the wall. He turned the water on moving the knob, before he turned to look at her.  
  
“Like I said too fucking long,” Negan laughed as he unbuckled his belts, but kept looking at her expectantly. “Of course, you can just keep watching me, I’ll take one by myself.”  
  
Jac bit her lip before she stepped further into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. She missed the time they spent together before. He was being so careful with her. Not to mention Arat and Simon were always around, so she’d only gotten some fleeting kisses… Still she took a moment before she pulled her shirt off. Negan had unzipped his pants, but he didn’t push them down yet. He was watching her… He usually helped her undress, but this time he didn’t move towards her.  
  
She let it drop to the floor, and undid her shorts. Jac pushed them down, stepped out of them, but then she looked up at him to find his jaw tight. Negan’s eyes were fixed on her, but she didn’t feel like she normally did. She brought her hands up to cover the spot on her sternum that was still scabbed up, and healing, but would definitely scar. Negan blinked and lifted his eyes up to hers.  
  
“Come ‘ere Sugar,” Negan hummed, “We’re wasting all the hot water.” He held his hands out for her, and she came closer. Negan pulled her into a hug before he kissed her. “My Sugar.” He unhooked her bra, and pulled it away before he pushed her underwear down. His fingers lingered at her hips. “My pretty girl.”  
  
Jac smiled a bit before she pushed at his jeans. They fell heavily to the ground, and she was a bit surprised when he wasn’t wearing any underwear. If she’d known she probably wouldn’t have been the one to do that. Sure, she’d seen him before, but it was still a bit intimidating.  
  
When she looked up at him wide-eyed he chuckled and ushered her into the shower. They rinsed off before Negan started washing her hair. Jac closed her eyes, but she held onto his sides to stay steady. Soap slipped down her cheek and Jac asked, “I g-get t-to wash you t-too right?”  
  
“Fuck yeah Sweet Girl,” Negan huffed as he ran his fingers though her hair. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did it! I posted the next chapter!

**Author's Note:**

> SO! This story is also up on FF.net, but I plan on making this my new home, especially since Tumblr is currently losing it's mind. I'm going to start getting the new chapters out soon this should be a fun ride!


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